Minster Way will be re-surfaced this summer thanks to the Liberal Democrats on BathNES Council.

The Lib Dem Council has budgeted an extra £2million for road re-surfacing this year, including Bathwick and Widcombe Hills. The surface of Minster Way has deteriorated in recent years, with countless cracks and loose material.

The road will be resurfaced with micro-asphalt, which is a quick and efficient process, leaving a smooth surface over the carriageway. Residents will be given plenty of notice of the works to move their vehicles.

The first of a new generation of bus shelters in Bathwick has been installed on Warminster Road. The new shelter replaces an older model near the Minster Way junction.

Many more modern bus shelters will be installed across the city in the coming months. They are part of BathNES Council’s Bath Transport Package, a series of measures aimed to improve bus patronage. This will include the introduction of real-time passenger information at bus stops, so that those waiting will have an accurate prediction of when the next bus is due. The new shelter on Warminster Road is ready for the installation of this display.

New shelters are planned across Bathwick, mostly on Bathwick Hill. These will replace and improve existing shelters, and there will be new provision for popular stops which do not currently have a shelter. There is also a shelter ordered for the 18 stop outside the Abbey for the first time.

Liberal Democrat run BathNES Council will be resurfacing sections of Bathwick Hill and Widcombe Hill over Easter.

Work on Widcombe Hill will start on 13th April, the week before Easter, and work on Bathwick Hill will begin on 22nd April. Neither road will be closed at the same time as the other, and both will be open for the Easter weekend. The resurfacing works are expected to be completed within the two week period.

The lower portion of Bathwick Hill was resurfaced in 2011, and now the council will be completing the job. In their budget last month the Liberal Democrats on BathNES Council allocated £2million for road resurfacing, while freezing council tax for the fourth consecutive year.

Bugler Coaches will be reducing their 18B bus service from 20 April. From next month it will only run during the morning peak times.

The 18B is one of the few services which runs down Bathwick Hill and over Pulteney Bridge directly into the city centre. The route was welcomed by many local residents who appreciated the direct link, lost when the Conservative council tried to close Pulteney Bridge to buses in 2010.

However, the yellow buses do not seem to have generated enough custom to be sustainable through the day. Buses will now only operate during the mornings, Monday to Friday. The last bus each day will leave the university campus for the city at 10:50.

As the Rennie Close development nears completion, double yellow lines are to be extended into the cul-de-sac.

BathNES Council has made the Traffic Regulation Order to prohibit on-street parking for the whole road. Parking in the close and Lime Grove Gardens has been problematic recently, as it is not possible for the council to restrict parking in a private development.

Residents of Rennie Close have designated parking bays and garages, so the road was designed without the need for on-street parking. This means that parking at the roadside can be dangerous or obstructive. Now that it can be legally restricted BathNES Council will be able to enforce against inconsiderate parking.

Residential roads in Bathwick will be given 20mph speed limits this summer.

The Liberal Democrat run council has been consulting on reduced speed limits, and rolling out 20mph zones, across the city. When Bathwick residents were asked their opinion, they responded to the council survey 2 to 1 in favour of 20mph limits for residential roads.

Cllr David Martin met with BathNES Council staff recently to discuss implementation of the ‘twenty is plenty’ project in our area.They talked about project timetables, and about how to manage traffic speeds on Bathwick Hill.

This year’s Bath Half Marathon is next weekend, on Sunday 2nd March. As ever, the event starts and finishes in Great Pulteney Street, looping via Pulteney Road around the Upper and Lower Bristol Roads.

There will be road closures between 9:45 and 3:30pm, with parking suspended on many streets from 6am. Full details are at http://bathhalf.co.uk/the-event/information-for-residents-businesses/.

Good luck to all runners and volunteers!

First bus are running a consultation into bus fares. A similar consultation ran in Bristol last year which promoted a restructure of fares across the city.

The consultation is available online at https://response.questback.com/firstgroupplc/fairerfaresforall/ and is available until 16 March.

Bath Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for practical and affordable public transport; our own bus survey is still running at http://bathlibdems.org.uk/fairer-fares.

A sketch has been published of a new bus shelter at the 18 stop outside the Abbey. The sketch shows how the shelter would look as part of the streetscape.

Bathwick’s Liberal Democrat councillors have campaigned for a shelter to be installed in this location as it is a very exposed place to wait for the 18 bus. Initial worries about Listed Building Consent have now been overcome and plans are developing.

David Martin and Nicholas Coombes will continue to push for speedy installation of the new shelter.

Installation of a new bus shelter on Bathwick Hill has been delayed by a dispute over land rights.

Bathwick’s Liberal Democrat councillors argued for a new shelter opposite Cleveland Walk to be delivered as part of the Bath Transport Package. However, just before installation, work was halted.

The dispute is between the National Trust, who claim to own the land, and BathNES Council which claims the right to install the bus shelter as it is the highways authority.

Councillors David Martin and Nicholas Coombes strongly support the installation of a bus shelter in this location and are keen to resolve the dispute swiftly.