Aims to bring new life to popular Chelsea Road in Bath
Work is under way to make a popular Bath shopping area more attractive to pedestrians.
People living and working in Chelsea Road were asked for their views on what should be done to enhance the area.
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Chelsea Road Transition Group Gill Risbridger, Councillor Caroline Roberts, Isobel Mack, Mark Russell, Dick Daniel and Peter Mecafe Picture: KEVIN BATES
Environmental group Transition Bath wants to encourage shoppers to walk or use public transport to reach the area.
It sent a survey to all residents living within a ten- minute walk of Chelsea Road to find out about their use of the street and how they felt it could be improved. Local traders were also asked for their views.
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Transition Bath spokeswoman Isobel Mack said: "Nearly a quarter of households within walking distance have no car. Transition Bath believes that local high streets are an important heart for the local community and it is important to encourage them to thrive."
The survey was followed up with a number of public meetings.
Issues raised at these included the speed of traffic, size of pavements, lack of safe crossings, cycle racks and greenery, and access difficulties for people with low mobility.
From the meetings a report was compiled listing concrete ways of improving the area.
Suggestions included a reduction in the speed limit, wider pavements, improved walking and cycling links, more pedestrian crossings, and help to encourage new businesses to the area.
A design group is now being set up so that local residents and traders can work with Bath and North East Somerset Council. In the next few years the group would like to see new bus stops and timetables at either end of the street, a butcher, fishmonger and pharmacy for the street, and dedicated disabled parking spaces.
Miss Mack said: "We hope that this project can be used as a test case and the findings applied to other local centres, both within Bath and elsewhere."
â Page 35 BoA story
10 Comments
by bathbookworm
Saturday, February 02 2013, 11:22AM
“I like the plan for a pharmacy, butcher and fishmonger. I could do all my shopping at lunchtime! I miss the little chemist that used to be there.”
by Mr_Nemo
Friday, February 01 2013, 7:00PM
“"I'd like to see the road closed to all traffic except delivery vehicles...."
You overlook the fact that Chelsea Road is the ONLY access route to four adjacent residential streets.”
by honeybunny55
Friday, February 01 2013, 4:45PM
“Well that would work wound't it? Get rid of all the motorised customers and rely solely on pedestrian custom. Wouldn't worry too much about delivery vehicles in that case as the shops won't be there long enough to need any! Would you allow disabled access in your perfect scheme?”
by Imp-Act
Friday, February 01 2013, 4:30PM
“I'd like to see the road closed to all traffic except delivery vehicles; And yes to the RUH getting it's parking (or lack of) sorted once and for all. Underground would be ideal (they did it in the Southgate flood plain area).”
by tomsjan
Friday, February 01 2013, 12:54PM
“I don't believe I said there were? It is just that they are not short-term or properly enforced so there is not enough turnover of spaces - same with Moorland Road. Unfortunately for both streets the only way to get enforcement is to make it worth the council's while and put in pay and display machines and that would be detrimental to both areas. In the old days of constabulary wardens parking stay was monitored with or without payment but that is not the case now. If I was trader in Chelsea Road I would be very careful what I wished for ..... make enough noise and they might decide you are worth bothering with.”
by Viscount_V
Friday, February 01 2013, 12:54PM
“Perhaps the RUH needs to take heed as a number of cars parked in Chelsea Road and the surrounding streets are those working in or visiting the RUH. Unless someone makes the hospital address its inadequate car park, other areas are set to suffer.”
by rogerh3
Friday, February 01 2013, 11:55AM
“There are no fewer parking spaces in Chelsea Road than there have ever been. If only people wouldn't park there there might be room for you to park there instead.”
by tomsjan
Friday, February 01 2013, 11:32AM
“I don't go to Chelsea Road or Moorland Road any more for the self same reason - no available parking. I don't think it is so difficult to cross the road that a crossing is necessary - and that will take out even more parking spaces with ziz-zag approaches. There are already disabled parking spaces..... they are called yellow lines, but are so abused that it is not usually possible to park even on them...... same in Moorland Road. If all the people living within walking distance used the street on a regular basis I would imagine there would be no need to try to boost trade, so that says to me either that there is not the right mix of shops or that it is cheaper to go elsewhere. Pensioners can go shopping where they choose with their bus passes and students will go where it is cheapest, so how many walking customers remain when you take out those two groups? When we attend hospital appointments we would love to be able to stop in Chelsea Road and have a look around but have never yet been able to park...... so we become "through traffic"...... in one end and out of the other.”
by Mr_Nemo
Friday, February 01 2013, 10:44AM
“As a regular user of Chelsea Road, one of the major problems is the amount of traffic that uses it to go between Combe Park and the Lower Bristol Road (or vice-versa), simply because you can not turn between one and the other at the junction in front of The Weston. The width of the road, coupled with the parking on the eastern side, provides traffic choas for the opposing flows trying to negotiate the west side of the road. As a result, there are far too many cars that have to mount the pavement ,simply to avoid causing gridlock.
It is difficult to know what the soution can be. Widening the pavement on the west side will merely aggravate the situation unless you ban parking on the east side, but that will simply drive custom away and put increased pressure on the adjacent residential streets. Making the road one-way would help the traffic, but in whichever direction you go it is bound to frustrate the residents in the side roads who need to go the other way. Altering the junction by The Weston seems unlikely.”
by mopsus2
Friday, February 01 2013, 9:49AM
“Before installing pedestrian crossings here, please could the Council give priority to putting one on Lansdown Rd.? A crossing was promised here for 2003! There's been a recent survey to find the best location. Could we have a date for when the crossing on Lansdown Rd. is going to appear, before the Council gets distracted by proposals to install them elsewhere? It really is long, long overdue.”