Petition move on BRT plan
A petition objecting to the controversial Bus Rapid Transit system planned for Bath will be handed over at a council meeting tonight.
Readers of the Chronicle's website have delivered an overwhelming thumbs-down to plans for the Bus Rapid Transit route across Bath.
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Some 81 per cent of the 2,310 people taking part in an online poll were opposed to the plan which would involve buses taking people in and out of the city centre from park and ride sites on the east and west of Bath.
The £16 million Bus Rapid Transit scheme would involve the loss of more than 50 on-street parking spaces, and parts of six gardens and five business premises in Newbridge.
Part of the route will be along a mile-long stretch of disused railway line between Brassmill Lane and Windsor Bridge Road.
The scheme is a key plank of Bath and North East Somerset Council's Government-backed package of proposals to tackle congestion in the city.
The council meets at 6.30pm tonight to discuss a move by opposition Liberal Democrats to put the brakes on the whole of the Bath Transport Package.
The anti-BRT Response2Route group will stage a protest on the steps of the Guildhall ahead of the meeting and hand over a petition to the ruling cabinet on the council.
Spokeswoman Jo McCarron welcomed the result of what is the Chronicle's most heavily-subscribed web poll ever.
She said: "This is a good result and seems to reflect what we have found when we have been out collecting signatures for our petition.
"It was an online vote but I'm sure even more people would have contributed if they had known about it. It's good to know that the public are with us."
This week a new map was launched by B&NES on its website aimed at showing people how the scheme and the rest of its £60 million plans.
A planning application will have to be submitted for the BRT before it can be built.
A council spokesman said: "The fact some Bath Chronicle readers oppose the Bus Rapid Transit scheme is nothing new.
"However, the result is at odds with the positive feedback the council is receiving through independent business groups, like the Chamber of Commerce, and independent transport groups, like the Campaign for Better Transport amongst many others.
"Local people have had numerous opportunities to express their views on the council's proposed improvements, and will have another through the planning application process.
"The council must get on with the job of delivering the £60 million of transport improvements for the area, otherwise there is a risk residents, businesses, and visitors will lose investment for expanded park and ride, better bus routes, and measures to enhance the pedestrian environment."
The BRT is backed by the public-public sector think tank the Initiative for B&NES, whose chairman Colin Skellett said there was "widespread support in the business community for the planned improvements."
However traders in London Road and Walcot Street - where BRT buses will run - say the plan will take their customers away.
Martin Tracy, owner of the Framing Workshop in Walcot Street, said: "We don't need any more buses - they are obtrusive, noisy, dirty and faster than anything else.
"What concerns us most is that Walcot Street is quite fragile. There is limited on-street parking already and most of that is taken up by residents' parking.
"It is increasingly difficult for people to get to us. We do need access to the city but we can't disturb that fragility or we are going to suffer.
"There is concern about a lack of information and dialogue. It seems the council are just going through the motions like they did with the bus gate and it will all be done and dusted before it gets into the public arena."
"We need to be taken seriously. Some of us have been here for 20 years."
Bath MP Don Foster added his support to the opposition but said a plan was needed to tackle congestion.
He said: "I think it is very clear from this result that the council has failed to handle this issue sensibly.
"By their own admission there has been no detailed analysis and they had failed to consult the public adequately on the details of the scheme.
"While we need to move ahead and tackle the city's transport problems, we need to look at alternative routes so that a reasonable decision can be made.
"If the council don't consider the opinions of the people of Bath, they are not doing their job properly."
21 Comments
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by Mary, Newbridge
Monday, December 22 2008, 8:27PM
“As a resident that will have the new BRT bus route running just behind my house, I would have voted in FAVOUR of the scheme. Being disabled, I look forward to the idea of a *reliable*, regular bus service straight into town, and a safe route for my family to cycle, without the danger of being run over by lorries going into nearby trading estates.
The Council's plans seem to have taken into account most of my concerns regarding noise and light pollution - and the only people who appear to be bullying are the Response2Route protesters who claim to speak on my behalf.”
by David, Bath
Friday, November 21 2008, 10:41AM
“"We shall ensure that the route is not abused by ineligible vehicles".
Spokesman, Bath & North East Somerset Council
That comment alone is enough to undermine the Council's credibilty.
I get the feeling that Spokesman has never had to sidestep mopeds racing on the Herman Miller footbridge, or on the towpath, or the footpath running through the Brickfields playing fields, or Innox Park.
If they build it, they may as well just rename the BRT "The Fast & The Furious 4: Twerton Drift".”
by paul, Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 9:27PM
“Here are a few links to pictures of various mono-rail systems already in use. I hope you agree that this would modern look could truly compliment Bath's Historical aspects.
http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/anh-mon-disney-monorail-trn-bmway-drippan.jpg
http://bp0.blogger.com/_2v96do7dhfY/Rn3F9eCMNtI/AAAAAAAAAJk/cA8Pm0p5mKo/s1600-h/wla-monorail-400m.jpg
http://bp2.blogger.com/_2v96do7dhfY/R2bTWquoUnI/AAAAAAAAATc/o6L4gdrtY9E/s1600-h/charnock-monorail-400.jpg
http://www.roderickhietbrink.nl/image/monorail.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/SydneyMonorail1_gobeirne.jpg/800px-SydneyMonorail1_gobeirne.jpg
http://www.urbanrail.net/au/sydney-monorail1.jpg
I think is the futuristic way to go, Buses are going the way of the dodo I am afraid...”
by rogerh, Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 9:08PM
“About as likely as an underground system in the vaults, I suspect.”
by paul, Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 8:57PM
“Have the council considered the option of a mono-rail train at all? It could be utlized by being suspended above the current road and walkway network. People could then watch the mono-rail trains whizz by overhead while being stuck in traffic jams. I think it would be great! It would be quick and clean and is a modern chnage from buses.
What do people think of my idea?”
by Evan, lower Weston
Thursday, November 20 2008, 5:33PM
“Well, council spokesman, you are just quoting the same old rubbish dreamt up by Creatrix. Nothing new there. Looks like you have just copied the text from your expensive glossy propaganda material. Again without having produced anything to back up your statements. You have in fact, not once come up with anything to actually verify the unrealistic costings you say you have done , when looking into alternatives. Come on, then, publish the studies you claim to have undertaken, but as long as you do not, no-one is going to believe a word you¿re saying.
What you have done very well, B&NES, is to convince thousands of Bath residents that the BRT element of your scheme is a seriously flawed , ill thought out and totally unwanted..”
by David, Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 4:17PM
“Well, now we know what the council spokesman does on his coffee break......”
by Spokesman, Bath & North East Somerset Council
Thursday, November 20 2008, 3:55PM
“COMMENT
1. Bath and North East Somerset Council is proposing to expand the number of Park and Ride spaces by over 2,500 at its existing three sites and a new one east of Bath. Bus rapid transit route will be much easier and convenient for people using the Park and Ride at Newbridge and in the East. On some days, it can take 30 minutes for vehicles to travel from the city boundary to Churchill Bridge. We want the peak journey time of the bus rapid transit route between Newbridge Park and Ride and the city centre to be a consistent 6 minutes. This will help unclog the roads of traffic and make public transport quicker and more reliable.
2. The environment surrounding the bus rapid transit route will be significantly enhanced. There will be a safe, dedicated path for cyclists and pedestrians. Extensive tree and shrub planting will improve the appearance of the current disused railway line, much of which is rundown and we shall ensure that the route is not abused by ineligible vehicles.
3. The buses used for the bus rapid transit will be environmentally-friendly using the latest technology available. The Council has secured money from the European Commission to study ways in which the vehicles used can be made as clean and as quiet as possible. A final choice of bus provider will be made in 2010
4. The Council's plans will make it easier for shoppers and workers to access the city centre. This is one reason why the Chamber of Commerce and Initiative for Bath and North East Somerset strongly support the Council's transport plans. Existing on-street parking on Walcot Street will remain. All buses will fit on the city's roads and bus lanes. Anyone with concerns about the effects on Walcot Street was welcome to come to the recent public exhibition held at the Guildhall, or contact the Council direct.
5. The work undertaken on the Lower Bristol Road shows this route would cost millions of pounds more, cause greater disruption, and would take longer than the proposed bus rapid transit route, undermining the Council's plans to tackle congestion. The Government has confirmed adopting this route would require a resubmission of the business case and put at significant risk the entire £54 million package of improvements urgently needed to tackle traffic congestion in Bath.
6. Bath and North East Somerset Council is proposing to implement an integrated range of measures to tackle congestion. These include improving thirteen bus routes in the area, providing better cycling facilities like rental schemes, introducing measures to reduce HGV's coming into the city like a transhipment depot, expanding the Bath Car Club, increasing pedestrianisation, and enhancing travel information to better manage traffic and parking. The Council has a website which presents our integrated transport plans for the area to provide better public transport, improved personal transport, and unclog our roads.”
by Simon E., Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 2:20PM
“Buses are not the answer to the Council's mistakes in road planning. Buses belong on existing roads. If the Council believes what it says then people will use the buses on the roads rather than their cars. So where's the problem?
There is no need to grab more land for raods if buses are to reduce the number of cars travelling on roads? Right? Not to the Council, apparently, who must think that buses will increase the need for cars and hence the need for more roads.
We need the Chronicle to investigate the real reason why the BRT is to be forced on us. Is it a "back hander" to some councillors? Is it that the Council will get more of our tax money from Gordon Brown if they meet this "government target"? Or is it just to bully us? I am sick and tired of green land grabbed away to fuel Council targets, or profits. First it's housing now it's buses, and all on valuable green land that can never be replaced.”
by David, Bath
Thursday, November 20 2008, 11:23AM
“I like it like that. I think the Chron have presented it in a way that highlights the - what's the word? - the dichotomy of the opposing views.
You've got George's view, that we should fall in behind the Council Cabinet, and have some faith in them, and underneath that, you've got approximately 1800 people saying "Uh-uh. No way."”