Somerset Council’s Leader has taken a key decision to return two-way traffic to Salmon Parade and East Quay following a review and extensive consultation work.
A southbound one-way system was introduced on Salmon Parade as part of the Bridgwater Town Deal Celebration Mile project, and a north-bound one-way system was introduced on East Quay. Wider pavements, a new cycle lane and a west-bound one-way system were also introduced on Eastover as part of the project.
The Celebration Mile project is a longstanding element of the Bridgwater Vision, a core placemaking and regeneration strategy for the town, inherited from and supported by the former Sedgemoor District Council, by Bridgwater Town Council and funded through the Bridgwater Town Deal.
A review of the East Quay and Salmon Parade elements of the project was commissioned in response to a Full Council motion in December 2025.
Following that independent technical review and report, which was considered Somerset Council’s Executive in the summer, a recommendation was agreed to run a public consultation on five options for East Quay and Salmon Parade:
• Maintain the existing arrangement along with the additional parking already introduced.
• Option A: Reversal of Salmon Parade (to northbound, allowing traffic to flow up past Town Bridge and continuing north onto East Quay).
• Option B: Two-way traffic on both roads.
• Option C: One-way traffic southbound down East Quay onto Salmon Parade.
• Option D: One-way traffic southbound down East Quay, one-way traffic northbound up Salmon Parade with all traffic exiting over the town bridge.
The consultation demonstrated a clear and significant community preference for Option B, reinstating two-way traffic flow, with 72% of the 1,311 respondents expressing that view.
This week, Councillor Bill Revans, Somerset Council’s Leader made a Key Decision for the team to reinstall two-way traffic on both Salmon Parade and East Quay.
You can read the full decision papers here: Bridgwater Celebration Mile Consultation Outcome
Councillor Revans said:
I would like to thank everyone who took part in our consultation and had their say on the changes at Celebration Mile. The intention of the original project was to make the pedestrian and cycling experience much better in this area. Ultimately the technical report found that the project in effect achieved what it set out to do, but this cannot be the only consideration.
We said we would listen to the voices of local residents and businesses when making this decision and we have done so.
Councillor Revans acknowledged that returning the roads to two-way traffic did pose a potential risk to pedestrians at the point where the roads meet by the Town Bridge, as outlined in the Decision Report. He confirmed funding was available – £160,000 from Town Deal Grant and up to £400,000 from Department For Transport Accessibility Grant Funding – to include mitigation within the works to return the roads to two-way traffic, such as pedestrian crossings.
