Traffic messaging signs

Work has commenced to install state-of-the-art tarffic messaging signs around the city centre and on the approaches to the city outskirts. The aim is to provide better travel information for drivers entering the city.

These signs will provide a range of information, including incidents, events, car parking space availability and park and ride locations. Upgrading the city’s transport system to tackle congestion and provide new infrastructure is all part of the Bath Transport Package.

There will be eight signs at locations outside the city and six more centrally-located signs. Two of these will be in Bathwick ward – at sections of the A36 on Pulteney Road and on Beckford Road – and the full network is due to be operational later in the year.

Cllr Martin said “up-to-the-minute traffic information is a crucial part of the Council’s plans to manage congestion hotspots. By helping drivers to be aware of any incident on the network, space availability, or busy events in the city, they can make informed decisions about their routes and avoid getting clogged up in traffic”.

Residents’ Parking

parking zones

The new parking system that was introduced in April has caused much discontent, in particular over the new 4 hour minimum time for visitor parking permits. We have passed these concerns form Bathwick residents onto the Council, and the Council in response to this feedback and from elsewhere in the district has announced a one hour minimum stay for visitor parking from 1 July 2013 for a three month trial.

The new permit system was introduced in March 2013 to make the management of residents’ permits easier and more convenient, particularly through the use of digital technology. Part of this system was adopting a four hour minimum visitor stay. After collecting data for an initial period, the Council now better understands the level of demand likely if the scheme used a one hour minimum stay. The changes mean that when using the system, residents can activate a stay either online or via text in one hour blocks by simply selecting or sending the required number of hours needed. The daily paper permits remain unaffected by this change.

For more information about the changes, you can look at www.bathnes.gov.uk/parkingpermit, or call Parking Services directly on 01225 477133 or 477134, or email parking@bathnes.gov.uk

Transport improvements in Bathwick

Caroline Roberts and David Martin

Cllr Caroline Roberts visited Bathwick recently in her role as the newly appointed Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member for Transport. She discussed a number of local traffic management problems in the ward with Cllr David Martin.

Cllr Roberts commented “it is always very useful to come out to see how the Council can improve traffic management and transport issues generally in the city. I will be looking at various proposals in Bathwick over the coming months with a view to including them in our forward planning”.

Cllr Martin added “Nicholas Coombes and I have made several suggestions for improvements and we will be working with the Council’s Highways Department to implement them where possible, given the budgetary constraints that the Council faces.”

Pedestrian island for Convocation Avenue

Convocation Avenue

Bath University plan to install a traffic island for pedestrians crossing Convocation Avenue.

This will be at the main entrance to the Claverton campus, just after the junction with The Avenue. The island will act as a pedestrian refuge for bus stop users from the Woodland Grove/Beech Avenue estate.

The project was announced at the recent Neighbours’ Forum which was shown plans of the works.

Zebra crossing finally cancelled

David Martin and Nicholas Coombes at Raby Place

BathNES Council Liberal Democrats have stopped a proposed zebra crossing at the bottom of Bathwick Hill.

The proposal has now been officially rejected by the Lib Dem in charge of transport, Cllr Roger Symonds, after considering the report and consultation responses.

Dozens of local residents, including local councillors David Martin and Nicholas Coombes, objected to the plans. Common concerns included the danger that the crossing would cause and the waste of public money.

The Conservatives proposed the crossing in 2011, just before they lost control of BathNES Council. Conservative candidates in Bathwick campaigned for the crossing during the local elections that year.

“I’m glad so many residents took part in this consultation;” said Cllr Nicholas Coombes, “opposition to the zebra crossing was overwhelming. Liberal Democrats on the Council have listened to local people and stopped this waste of money.”

New bus service for Cleveland Walk

Cleveland Walk

A circular bus service is being introduced to Cleveland Walk from the end of the month.

The 734 is being extended into Bathwick, providing a local service into the city centre. Currently the service runs every two hours in a circuit through the Bathwick Estate and Lansdown. From 27th May the bus will go up North Road, across Cleveland Walk and down Bathwick Hill.

The 734 service crosses Pulteney Bridge, which means that local residents of Cleveland Walk or Bathwick Hill will be able to catch the bus to Great Pulteney Street surgery or the city centre Post Office. Like the new 94 bus route, this service partly compensates for the loss of the direct 18 service, caused when the Conservatives tried to close Pulteney Bridge.

Raby Place zebra set to be abandoned

David Martin and Nicholas Coombes at Raby Place

The suggested zebra crossing outside Raby Place is set to be abandoned following public consultation.

A crossing opposite the church was proposed by the Conservatives during the 2011 local election and somehow was put onto B&NES Council’s scheme list. A project was drawn up which would have reduced the road width, lost parking spaces and possibly led to buses blocking the roundabout. Unsurprisingly, your Lib Dem councillors and dozens of local residents wrote to object.

A report on the project has now been written up for a final decision. Liberal Democrat cabinet member for transport, Cllr Roger Symonds. He has indicated that he intends to listen to local residents and councillors and abandon the scheme.

20mph petition taken to council cabinet

Nicholas and David support 20 mph limits

Residents of Clarence Terrace and Widcombe Hill have presented a petition to BathNES Council cabinet in favour of a 20mph speed limit in their area. You can now watch the petition being handed in on the council website; the item starts at 17:25 from the beginning.

The Liberal Democrats on BathNES Council are delivering on their manifesto promise of 20mph limits in residential areas. Consultation on an ares including Darlington Road has just been completed. The remainder of Bathwick and Widcombe is phased for public consultation this summer.

The petitioners correctly observed that Clarence Terrace and the area on the top of Claverton Down was not included in an early draft of suggested 20mph zones. Your Liberal Democrat councillors Nicholas Coombes and David Martin have already discussed this omission with council transport staff. When a revised version is published for public consultation in the summer, they expect these streets to be included.

Magnificent Two Tunnels open

Combe Down tunnel tunnel path Bicycle in tunnel tunnel interior Tucking Mill viaduct

The Two Tunnels project opened this weekend.

A shared path for cyclists and pedestrians has been created along the line of the Somerset & Dorset railway, through the eponymous two tunnels and over the Tucking Mill viaduct. The route also take in Linear Park, thus linking Oldfield Park, Bear Flat and Midford. At the Midford end the former railway line can be followed as the Colliers Way, an existing off-road route to Radstock and then Frome. One can also connect to the Kennet and Avon canal towpath to return to Bath. At the Oldfield Park end a link is shortly to be provided to the Bristol-Bath cycle path, also along a former railway line. £252,000 funding for this was announced last week by the Liberal Democrat Transport Minister, Norman Baker.

The project has taken several years to plan, fund and build. Both the Bath pigs and lions public art projects, devised by  Gitte Dawson, raised money for the scheme. Gitte, a former Liberal Democrat councillor, has since been awarded an MBE for her work. The opening day was a popular success with the route full of families walking and riding together. I visited on Thursday afternoon for a quieter experience.

For those of us living on Bathwick Hill the tunnels aren’t particularly practical, but I would argue are worth a special visit. Our nearest entry point is from the park on Bloomfield Road, just off the Wellsway. For cyclists, the route through Widcombe, Calton Gardens and up Holloway is probably best. Alternatively we can ride around on the canal towpath, turning off just before the Dundas aqueduct.

The main tunnel under Combe Down is a mile long, the longest open to cyclists in Britain. It is gently lit in a way which is quite beautiful as well as practical. Although noticeably colder than outside, the central part of the tunnel seems to retain its heat and has a still, slightly damp, atmosphere. Deep under Combe Down, the soft sound of a string quartet is barely audible cycling, but is spellbinding if one walks or stops altogether. The many speakers, each carrying a single part, are linked to coloured lights which pulse in time to their respective instrument. The effect is quite wonderful.

20mph limits come to Bathwick

Nicholas and David support 20 mph limits

Liberal Democrats on BathNES Council are delivering a key election pledge: 20mph limits for residential streets.

Streets with 20mph limits are safer for other road users like pedestrians and cyclists. They are quieter and less polluted, benefiting residents and pedestrians alike. At 20mph drivers have more time to observe what is going on around them, and yet this will add less than a minute to the typical journey time. You can read more about the spread of 20mph zones to cities across the country at http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/.

In Bath, quiet residential streets like Minster Way, Sham Castle Lane, Sydney Buildings and Woodland Grove would benefit from the new limit. Through roads like Warminster Road and Pulteney Road will retain their 30mph limit. The change is being introduced gradually through the city in zones separated by the main roads. The first zone, Twerton and Whiteway, has been in operation for more than a year.

Each new zone proposed is subject to meaningful public consultation about the limit and roads to be included. Most zones have had overwhelming public support. However, Midsomer Norton Town Council did not support the limit, so it was not introduced in their town. The consultation reaches Bathwick this year.

The first area affected is the Bathwick Estate, including Darlington Road. Residents of the affected streets have been sent a map of the proposals and are invited to send back their comments by 12th April. As 20mph limits are designed to improve the environment of residential areas, only residents of the areas involved are invited to participate in each consultation. Consultations for the rest of Bathwick ward will begin later this year.