:00:09. > :00:13.The brand new South Bristol link road had a test drive today.
:00:14. > :00:15.Hundreds of cyclists became the first to use the route
:00:16. > :00:21.The ?45 million road will also form part of the route
:00:22. > :00:24.for the city's new Metrobus, in a scheme designed
:00:25. > :00:32.It's not every day that cyclists are offered the chance to ride
:00:33. > :00:37.And so hundreds turned out today to ride the five kilometres
:00:38. > :00:43.Many of these cyclists live locally and think the new road
:00:44. > :00:49.will help to ease the amount of traffic on certain roads.
:00:50. > :00:54.I guess it'll take a lot of pressure off of Winterstoke
:00:55. > :00:58.And I do a lot of cycling myself so, yeah, it'll be great
:00:59. > :01:02.And it was really smooth and easy to cycle on.
:01:03. > :01:05.I think it's going to make a massive difference around the
:01:06. > :01:07.Parson Street area, where we are, in Bedminster, it'll
:01:08. > :01:09.really relieve the traffic going through there, yeah.
:01:10. > :01:12.The majority of those here today were positive
:01:13. > :01:18.But the Green Party has opposed the plans right from the start,
:01:19. > :01:21.and say building new roads will never help cut traffic.
:01:22. > :01:26.At the moment, some of the plans that are coming
:01:27. > :01:29.forward, only seem to be moving the air quality issues that
:01:30. > :01:31.currently tend to be concentrated in the centre of
:01:32. > :01:34.the city and moving them out to the fringes, in areas like
:01:35. > :01:39.But, in rush hour, parts of South Bristol
:01:40. > :01:44.For a business here which employs 1500 people, the feeling
:01:45. > :01:48.is that this road can only be a good thing.
:01:49. > :01:53.Really, the congestion in Bristol has made it very
:01:54. > :01:56.Really, the congestion in Bristol has made it very difficult for them.
:01:57. > :01:58.The new road will definitely improve their travel times.
:01:59. > :02:01.It will improve the air quality in the area, I'm sure.
:02:02. > :02:03.And generally, for the residents, it will reduce the amount
:02:04. > :02:07.In the New Year, this new road will open to cars.
:02:08. > :02:10.After that, part of it will be used by the Metrobus.
:02:11. > :02:13.And if it helps to get South Bristol moving then it
:02:14. > :02:23.won't just be these Santas who are the only happy customers.
:02:24. > :02:25.A seasonal warning's been issued to Christmas partygoers in Bath
:02:26. > :02:27.to take extra care around the River Avon.
:02:28. > :02:31.12 people have died after falling into the river
:02:32. > :02:34.in the past seven years - the last only a few weeks ago.
:02:35. > :02:36.The River Safety Group in Bath is urging people to stay away
:02:37. > :02:40.from the water after drinking, and says even strong swimmers can
:02:41. > :02:47.To football - let's take a look at the weekend's goal action.
:02:48. > :02:49.In the Championship, Bristol City lost 2-1
:02:50. > :02:54.Aaron Wilbraham headed in this equaliser with 12 minutes
:02:55. > :02:56.to go and City looked the more likely to win,
:02:57. > :03:00.but with five minutes remaining the visitors snatched victory.
:03:01. > :03:03.Bristol Rovers went down 2-0 at Shrewsbury.
:03:04. > :03:05.Rovers almost took the lead in the first minute,
:03:06. > :03:08.but Peter Harley's header clipped the top of the bar.
:03:09. > :03:13.Swindon drew 1-1 with Fleetwood - Luke Norris with an early opener
:03:14. > :03:17.for Swindon, before the visitors cancelled it out ten minutes later.
:03:18. > :03:21.Yeovil tested Carlisle's resilience with a second-half comeback -
:03:22. > :03:25.Nathan Smith scoring three minutes after the break - but the hosts held
:03:26. > :03:30.Two goals in the space of one second-half minute saw Cheltenham
:03:31. > :03:34.come back from a goal down to beat ten man Morecambe, Billy Waters
:03:35. > :03:37.and Harry Pell sealing an important victory.
:03:38. > :03:40.And it was a draw for Forest Green Rovers and Dover -
:03:41. > :03:44.you might not be able to see it through the fog, but it was thanks
:03:45. > :03:49.to an injury-time equaliser from Kieffer Moore.
:03:50. > :03:51.Gloucester Rugby suffered a heavy first defeat
:03:52. > :03:54.in the European Challenge Cup this season, as La Rochelle ran
:03:55. > :03:57.in six tries at home - formidable in front of a home crowd.
:03:58. > :04:04.In festive news, knitters from a church in South Gloucestershire
:04:05. > :04:08.have created their own Christmas tree, which will later be recycled
:04:09. > :04:14.Over 800 woolly green squares have been knitted or crocheted and then
:04:15. > :04:23.by the St Michael's Yarn Bombers of Stoke Gifford.
:04:24. > :04:25.Three squares even came from a knitter in America.
:04:26. > :04:28.In January, the tree will be taken down, and sewn into ten blankets
:04:29. > :04:41.We wanted to do something that could involve as many people in the
:04:42. > :04:46.community as possible, so we could celebrate Christmas to melt
:04:47. > :04:53.together. It was always in our plans to do something that we could give
:04:54. > :04:57.to other people, so the plans to make the blankets were always an
:04:58. > :04:59.important part of the project. 50 dancing Santas brought part
:05:00. > :05:01.of the Forest of Dean The flashmob-style event,
:05:02. > :05:05.by the clock tower in Coleford, was organised by students
:05:06. > :05:07.from a local dancing school. They were performing to raise money
:05:08. > :05:09.for the Make a Wish Foundation. Time for weather
:05:10. > :05:11.check with Holly now. Some of us have had some
:05:12. > :05:15.stubborn mist and fog for today and it's quickly re-thickening
:05:16. > :05:18.for tonight so the Met Office has Some of it could be
:05:19. > :05:21.quite thick and it could be quite
:05:22. > :05:23.a hazard on the roads. Mostly staying frost-free
:05:24. > :05:25.for tonight but, given some clear spells, we could see a bit
:05:26. > :05:28.of patchy stuff perhaps But these are typical
:05:29. > :05:31.low temperatures. An odd drizzly shower
:05:32. > :05:33.or two but generally dry. Poor visibility, then,
:05:34. > :05:35.to start the day tomorrow. Slowly that will lift and break
:05:36. > :05:38.but it could be a pretty slow Some bright spells perhaps
:05:39. > :05:42.coming through but, in And highs of 7 or 8 -
:05:43. > :05:49.feeling a bit chilly, I think, A little bit of drizzle,
:05:50. > :05:53.but turning more unsettled We're back a bit later than usual -
:05:54. > :05:57.after those Sports Personality of the Year
:05:58. > :06:13.awards, here on BBC One. Hello. Exactly a week to Christmas
:06:14. > :06:16.but it did not feel that way in north-east Scotland today with
:06:17. > :06:23.temperatures as high as 13 Celsius in Aberdeenshire. This is one
:06:24. > :06:27.Weather Watcher's view. It is colder and Misty and murky in South Wales.
:06:28. > :06:34.You could see some dense fog patches developing tonight and into tomorrow
:06:35. > :06:39.morning. Southeast Wells, the Midlands and southern England are
:06:40. > :06:41.most at risk of that. They're out Brexit rain for Scotland later in
:06:42. > :06:43.the night.