Zebra Crossing Danger

The BBC recently reported on a faded Zebra Crossing on Manor Road that locals had reported to the Council for years.

A recent report on FixMyStreet had asked politely for the markings to be refreshed:

And the Council gave their standard answer for reports like this:

But, once it was reported in the local press the response changed:

Chair of the council's transport committee Ed Plowden acknowledged the complaints and said the crossing would be repainted within the next two weeks.

It seems that reporting dangerous zebra crossings on FixMyStreet does not result in any action being taken, but taking your complaint to the local press can get it resolved very quickly.

This is what the Manor Road Zebra Crossing looked like in Aug 2025 (image from Google Street View):

And looking at Google Street View, the last time the Zebra Crossing looked in good condition was in July 2015:

Here is a list of some of the other reports made in the past few weeks about dangerous zebra crossings. Perhaps our local journalists could highlight these to help get them fixed more quickly.

It is dangerous - 15 Jan 2026

Zebra crossing has collapsed and you say it's not dangerous. That is nonsense. It's now flooded so the extent of the damage is partially hidden . It's a major trip hazard for anyone.

Zebra crossing really faded - 29 Jan 2026

The zebra crossing is really faded and barely visible - used by multiple school kids through the day

Zebra crossing faded - 29 Jan 2026

Zebra crossing faded. Dangerous as cars who don’t know the area will not know of the zebra crossing

Zebra Crossing stripes very faint and small circular hole in middle of it. - 29 Jan 2026

Zebra crossings stripes now very faint after long term fading, In centre of crossing a small circular metal edged hole is a trip hazard. Location: Victoria Square at Clifton Road junction.

Zebra crossing on St James street outside St Werburghs primary school is in urgent need of repainting - 9 Jan 2026

Difficult to see the markings on the road particularly in poor weather. Child safety issue.

Zebra crossing and road markings not visible at junction of Two Mile Hill to Soundwell Road - 7 Jan 2026

The Zebra crossing lines and zig zag lines on the road outside Pizza Hut (323 Two Mile Hill Road) and the junction road markings for the turning into Soundwell Road from Two Mile Hill Road are not visible.

Please arrange for these to be repainted as it is a safety issue for pedestrians crossing the Zebra crossing and junction.

This issue has been outstanding for a number of years with no action taken despite the issue being raised on report numbers: 1032038 1351112 1401520 1141722 6995153

Council Response:

As this issue is not urgent we'll deal with it as part of a future planned work scheme in this area.

Maintenance Funding

As I reported last week in "Broken Bristol", the Council recognise that they do not have the funds to maintain our highways and repairs have to be rationed. Surely Zebra Crossings should be at the top of the priority list.

See: Bristol City Council Highway Strategic Asset Management Plan (22 Jan 2026)

Over the years, maintenance funding for this complex and evolving network has not kept up with the asset lifecycle – in other words, the rate of renewal for highway assets have not kept up with the rate of deterioration. Although Bristol City Council intervenes with preventative maintenance to slow deterioration and prevent asset failure, limited resources must be prioritised across the whole city.

It should be noted that there is no specific mention of Zebra Crossings in this document.

How many Zebra Crossings in Bristol?

There are approximately 236 Zebra Crossings in Bristol (according to Bristol Open Data). The Bristol Open Data provides the number of Zebra Lights, which I divide by two in order to estimate the number of crossings.

Where are the most dangerous Zebra Crossings?

I have taken the data for Traffic Accidents within 20 metres of Zebra Crossings and combine it with FixMyStreet reports related to Zebra Crossings. This gives an indication of which Zebra Crossings are most dangerous. Data for Traffic Collisions is only available to the end of 2024.

Zebra Crossings with the highest number of nearby accidents

West Town Lane

Gloucester Road

Avonvale Road

Pen Park Road

Whiteladies Road

Westbury Road

West Street

Henleaze Road

St Paul's Road

St Stephens Street