At the West of England Partnership on Friday our Conservative Council leader confidently informed the meeting that she considers our Bath Transport package to be proceeding well. I think she is wrong the level of public anger against the rapid transit route she and her colleagues forced through and the late change of a Park and Ride to a flood plain and meadows has ignited a lot of public anger.
Hopefully the Government minister will recognize that there are better solutions on offer and side with the residents and not our Council Leader and her Conservative cabinet.
A new Carbon Reduction campaign has started with individuals taking responsibility to reduce their own personal CO2 footprint by 10% in 2010. More details here at 10:10
I’ve already started by deciding to have two days a week in which my diet will be meat free and we have brought a home yoghurt maker to make our own yoghurt.
Proposals to make some improvements for cyclists throughout Bath city centre are being considered.
One of the main problems for cyclists in Bath are barriers such as busy roads and one way streets which makes cycling difficult from one side of the city to the other. The attached plans show ideas which have been put forward as possible schemes. These will assist in removing some of these barriers.
·Currently cyclists travelling between the Wells Road area and Bath city centre have to cycle around Churchill Gyratory which is difficult for cyclists. The proposed route will avoid this busy road allowing cyclists to use existing footways as shared use paths and the subway under the railway. A pedestrian count has been carried out here which shows that the majority of pedestrians travelling to and from the city centre currently use steps to the west of the proposed route. The proposed shared use will utilise the the ramped access under the railway as shown on the attached plan.
·Pines Way is also difficult to cycle round with traffic lanes to cross and the route is not direct between the Oldfield Park area and the city centre. The proposal is to allow cyclists to use existing footways as shared use paths crossing the roads at existing pelican crossings as shown on the attached plan. The proposal also includes a cycle contra-flow along Cheltenham Street.
·The third proposal is for cyclists to travel across the Destructor Bridge in both directions by allowing cyclists to cycle along a widened footway on the west side of the bridge in a northenly direction. Cyclists will then join an existing footway on the west side of Midland Road beyond the Council depot and then join Upper Bristol Road.
Pedestrians will be encouraged to use the footway on the east side of the Destructor Bridge which links between existing footways and the Riverside Path. The footway on the west which is being proposed for cycle use does not link to any footway to the south.
The extension of this route to cross Upper Bristol Road and utilise the northern footway to link to Park Lane has been considered, however, this is currently not possible because of the bus stop.
One of the problems we face in Bath is the SatNav guidance systems used by lorries and others. Councillors and MP Don Foster, are working on a number of ideas to reduce the common problem of lorries guided by SatNav taking unsuitable routes through the area and frequently getting stuck.
The problem has been highlighted recently by such cases occurring in Freshford and also in Greenway Lane, Bath. When a lorry does get stuck it is not only inconvenient to the driver but also massively inconvenient to locals who may be unable to use that route for several hours.
We have identified two measures which may help alleviate the problem. The first is some recently approved road signs which can be put up wherever there is a recurring problem. These are essentially a ‘No HGVs’ sign, one with words and one without words. It is expected that the second would be used mainly near ports where it should be understood by drivers with imperfect English. These signs have been trialled with apparent success in Wales.
The second measure is for the Council to create a ‘Freight Advisory Route Map’ which would be published on the council website and which would enable lorry drivers to plan a sensible route through the Bath area. This is apparently used successfully by county areas such as Warwickshire and Tyne & Wear.
MP Don Foster meanwhile is working on a third idea which is currently being considered by the Dept for Transport (DfT) in London. If fully implemented it may result in special variants of SatNav routes which would be guaranteed suitable for HGVs, and would deter them from taking any other route. At the moment this scheme is up for consideration as a trial only, but if successful could be widened to the whole of the UK.
Finding ways of keeping through lorry traffic out of Bath is important for a lot of residents. Finding a solution that enables freight to get from ports to towns is important but this needs to have a socially responsible rout map. Better still we should aim to get freight straight onto the rail newtork and increase substantially the amount of freight that does most of its journey by rail and not by road.
The Liberal Democrats in Bath have been calling on Bath to follow the lead of Portsmouth for some months now. The Conservative Cabinet member has largely batted of the requests. However now a delegation is going to Portsmouth to see for themselves just what impact it has made.
In Bath we are sure slower speeds will improve road manners and reduce accidents. Now Bristol’s new Liberal emocrat Cabinet is already moving ahead with some large pilots.
Subject: Press release, Bristol Lib Dems – 20MPH ZONE TRIALS
Speed limits of 20mph are set to be piloted in Bristol by the Liberal Democrat city council.
Two areas of the city Ashley/Easton/Lawrence Hill/Eastville/St George West and Southville/Bedminster/Windmill Hill are being Proposed for trials.
Major roads running through these areas, such as the M32 and Stapleton Road, in Easton, and North Street, in Southville, would be exempt. The 20mph limits will not involve the introduction of any physical
traffic-calming measures, such as speed humps or chicanes.
Executive member for transport and sustainability Jon Rogers said: “The primary aim is to make walking and cycling in these communities safer and more attractive to more people. Reducing the speed limit to 20mph should also help to reduce the number of road accidents. We will be monitoring the success of the two pilot areas and listening to comments before we look at whether they could be extended to other parts of the city. We are not expecting the schemes to cause any significant delays to drivers.
Ends
The last sentence says it all from the drivers point of view. Slower speeds in cities do not mean increased journey times during the working day.
The new City centre exhibition of pictures by Yann Arthus-Bertrand that cover nature at work and different aspects of sustainability is creating a lot of interest. There is also a walk-on world map for people to match photographs with locations.
The exhibition has been seen all over Europe and people have been wowed with the breathtaking photography from all over the world taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Because the photographs are taken from between one hundred and ten thousand feet in the air, each picture has a unique and distinctive feel showing a different perspective that you cannot see from the ground, whether it is a trail of camel caravans in Mauritania or a glacier in Argentina. There are also new photographs in this collection that have never previously been seen.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is using the exhibition, generously supported by The Roper Family Charitable Trust, Trevor Osborne Group, and Michael Edge, as a chance to opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of the environmental issues society faces and to encourage people to join with the Council in cutting carbon emissions.
The display will help raise several environmental issues and increase understanding and awareness of sustainability issues. It is a wonderful collection of pictures. Well done to the Arts and Leisure section of the Council and to the sponsors for bringing this display to Bath. I am sure it will be enjoyed by all.
More interesting information on Yann Arthus-Bertrand can be found at this link
The exhibition will run from 28th August – 10th January 2010 . LINK
From the 4th November onwards the whole display will move to the new boulevards around SouthGate in order to enable the Remembrance Parade and the Christmas Market.
The Conservative Cabinet have proudly announced that the Bath City cleaning team is to get a smart new uniform so that they look different from Council staff as a solution to getting the streets cleaner.
Meanwhile litter problems grow, seagull populations grow and areas remain uncared for. At the last budget the Liberal Democrats proposed cancelling Conservative plans to build a new Town Hall in Keynsham and instead to invest an extra £500k pa into street cleaning for the whole area. And of course the seagull population would move on if there was less food waste available. Household food waste could already be being collected separately but under the Conservatives these plans have been shelved till late 2011.
So Conservative priority – smart uniforms and a new Council House
or Liberal Democrat priority – cleaner streets and more recycling.
It was amazing to read today that Rochdale has already started putting up its Christmas Lights and that some stores are already putting on Christmas displays. What nonsense. Its hardly surprising that the real message of Christmas is lost when the commercial sector starts driving us mad before the Ashes series has even ended.
In Bath our Christmas lights are turned on at the start of the Christmas Market which starts at the end of Nevember. Plenty of time enough. And this year in Bath it will be all new lights…..
Bath and North East Somerset will be in illustrious company at this winter’s Christmas light switch-on. A firm which has illuminated the Champs Elysee and Eiffel Tower in Paris as well as providing Christmas lights for Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh has been selected as the provider for the district’s own yuletide displays. Blachere see http://www.blachere-illumination.co.uk/about.html
And to add to the fun the opening will be done by anther celebrity newcomer to Bath Nicholas Cage – my favourite film of his – ‘Face Off’ with John Travolta.
The Conservatives having railroaded through the Council their ill-conceived road scheme are now being challenged by Don Foster MP who has written to the Minister.
There are many ways this money would be better spent to ease congestion rather than building a two lane highway down the back of peoples gardens.
Don’s letter follows
14 August 2009
Rt Hon John Denham MP
Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government
Communities & Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
LONDONSW1E 5DUOur Ref: Fost014/17
Re: Bath Bus Rapid Transit : Your ref: SF/SM/016314/09
You may recall that I wrote to you earlier this year outlining my concerns over the proposed Bath Bus Rapid Transit route, which is part of the Bath Transportation Package.Having also written to your predecessor at DCLG, Hazel Blears, an Article 14 Holding Direction was placed on the planning application.
On the 5th August the proposed-BRT passed through Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Development Control Committee at the third attempt.At all three meetings of the committee that considered this proposal, huge numbers of residents turned out to watch proceedings (forcing the use of overflow rooms) and many spoke against the scheme.Residents who spoke were not just from the area of the city directly affected, but from all parts of Bath.
I still have huge concerns over how this application came to be, including the lack of stakeholder consultation and the fact that only a bear minimum of work was ever undertaken into alternative routes and proposals for the BRT.
Residents are also highly sceptical of the planning process, which saw the plans brought back twice to committee with only minor alterations on each occasion.They feel let down by the process, and think the Council was not interested in listening to their views.
I have also received much correspondence over letters to the Council, which were made public, from an official at the Department for Transport and the Government Office of the South West.These letters seemed to indicate that the BRT must be passed soon, or the Council would be at risk of losing government money for the Bath Transportation Package.There is strong feeling that this placed undue pressure on members of the Development Control Committee.
I would like to re-iterate my request that you look closely at this proposal, and seriously consider calling-in the application for a public inquiry.I hope that whichever decision you come to, you are able to demonstrate to residents that you have taken their concerns seriously.
Don Foster MP
Please reply to 31 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT
Where did our love go? Visitors show their love for the Supremes
The August Bank Holiday weekend sees the closing of The Story of The Supremes From the Mary Wilson Collection at the Assembly Rooms. If you have not seen it yet do come. It is great.
The exhibition has received a huge number of visitors to the Assembly Rooms. It is not just Supremes fans who are visiting but also everyone with an interest in the fashion and pop culture of the 60s and 70s.
The comments in the visitor’s book released many memories:
“It was amazing to see the Supremes dresses for real. I only ever saw them in black and white on TV.”, “Wonderful glamour. Thankyou!”, “Supremes exhibition made me feel every emotion possible.”
So if you have not yet decided what to do for the Bank Holiday – Visit Bath
