A range of traffic improvements serving Cabot Circus in Bristol have helped the smooth opening of the shopping centre, say transport bosses.

There was widespread expectancy that last Thursday's opening, the weekend and the return of commuter traffic yesterday would see motorists struggling to drive in the centre of Bristol.

The city, already one of the most congested in the country, was expected to verge on gridlock after thousands of extra cars poured in to visit the £500 million centre.

Fine weather meant many people from Bristol walked to the centre and the Christmas period is expected to provide another stern test of the traffic infrastructure.

But so far the gridlock some were predicting has failed to materialise and transport bosses have hailed the new road layout as a resounding success.

A series of improvements came into force at the end of last week, just in time for the opening of Cabot Circus.

These included:

new bus lanes around Bond Street, Bond Street South and Newfoundland Circus

an expanded park site off the Portway near Avonmouth

extra park and ride services near the M32 at Frenchay over the weekend

signs and warnings from the Highways Agency on the motorway network around Bristol warning of likely congestion

a new £500,000 Urban Traffic Control centre in St Paul's to monitor traffic flow and alter traffic light sequences as required.

The new Cabot car park, whose 2,600 spaces were expected to be at capacity during the weekend, only reached a peak of 81 per cent full.

Yesterday, despite thousands of commuters heading to the city in rush hour, the car park only reached 37 per cent occupancy at its highest rate.

Mark Bradshaw, city councillor in charge of transport, said: "The council, together with the Bristol Alliance, the various transport operators, the police and the media, have placed providing extensive travel information to the public at the heart of our joint working.

"This has been supported by the new traffic control centre which has strengthened our ability to keep traffic moving.

"In addition, the investment to treble the size of the Portway park & ride, the extended Portway bus lane, the M32 bus lane, the new signals and junction improvements, car park availability signs and the investment in local rail have all helped enhance travel choices for the public.

"Above all, people travelling to our city have decided to explore and take up these options and we are noticing a welcome increased take up of public transport, park and ride, walking and cycling.

"We are not complacent but are pleased that the combination of targeted investments, quality travel information and the support of many residents and visitors have all helped to make a big difference."

Cabot Circus centre manager Richard Belt said: "From a trading point of view, there are a lot of happy retailers here.

"The restaurants were just overwhelmed and were trading right up until midnight.

"The traffic was very good, we worked well with the councils traffic control centre and are very pleased about how it went.

"Around 470,000 people came over the four days, which exceeded our expectations."

A debate on the benefits and negative impacts of Cabot Circus on Bristol will be held in St Jude's on Thursday October 9.

James Bailey, manager of the centre, will emphasise the market tradition of the area and point out the creation of 4,000 new jobs.

His arguments will be countered by Tony Weekes, stressing the need to put creativity not consumerism into the heart of regeneration.

The meeting will be held at 7.30pm at the Central Meeting House in River Street, Bristol, and all are welcome to attend.