Traders' concern over impact of new bus route on shops
Traders concerned about the impact of a new rapid bus route through Bath were among those who walked its proposed route this week.
The walk, which was led by Cllr David Dixon (Lib Dem, Walcot), began at the Guildhall and finished at the Lambridge rugby training ground.
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If granted planning permission, the £16 million Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route would link the east and west of the city, with hi-tech buses running between Newbridge park and ride and a new park and ride likely to be at Bathampton.
The city centre part of the route would see vehicles travel along Broad Street, before turning into Saracen Street and leaving the city centre via Walcot Street.
But businesses say the loss of parking spaces needed to accommodate new bus lanes would have a detrimental effect on their trade.
Martin Tracy, of the Framing Workshop in Walcot Street, said: "There is growing concern in Walcot Street about the lack of information surrounding this scheme. "There is precious little parking in the street already and most of it is taken up by residents. We need access, we need people to get to us.
"We have huge problems with congestion as it is, so I don't know how buses are going to travel through here."
But shop owners were relieved to hear Bath and North East Somerset Council - which is behind the BRT - proposes the creation of a new stop in the area for park and ride buses to encourage shoppers.
Also taking part in the walk were representatives from the council's traffic safety and highways teams.
The route has proved highly contentious in Newbridge, where there are plans to slice through parts of a handful of gardens, and to use a disused railway path.
Cllr Dixon said: "This march was about being proactive and allowing residents, business owners and councillors to have their questions answered and reassuring them there is no hidden agenda.
"Our immediate concerns were that there have been lots of accidents along the London Road and residents are concerned how putting in an extra bus lane will affect that.
"They also wanted to know if anyone will be losing parts of their front gardens as in Newbridge but we were reassured that they are looking at using the existing road space to accommodate the proposed route.
"We were also trying to get an idea of whether this will be a two-way or single lane bus route and whether parking spaces will be sacrificed.
"This stretch of the scheme is not as contentious as Newbridge and perhaps if this kind of listening exercise had been carried out there earlier on, there would not have been such a furore.
"Although the plans for the route there were first mooted 20 years ago and people were consulted, there should have been another consultation since then."
A public consultation, with exhibitions is due to be held early next month before a planning application is submitted.
A council spokesman said the authority would "continue to engage with local communities" over the BRT.
"Around 27,000 people come in and out of the city to work every day by car, the annual cost of congestion to Bath is £50 million, and there is a projected 14 per cent increase in rush hour morning traffic in Bath in ten years' time.
"The road network is already severely constrained. Doing nothing is not an option. "The city needs measures to make travel easier and more efficient which is why the council is investing over £60 million to improve transport."
The Response2Route group, which is opposed to the BRT plan, will hold a public meeting at the Dolphin Inn on Tuesday October 21 at 7pm.
Members will also be delivering a petition and protesting outside the Guildhall ahead of a council meeting on Thursday November 20 from 6.30pm.
29 Comments
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by Arthur Streatfield, Bath
Thursday, October 09 2008, 11:35AM
“A few years ago, in commenting on the local plan I suggested that the use of large river taxis (perhaps with select stops) along the river should be explored. Assuming the aim is to ease congestion from each side of the city (predominantly commuters or visitors) - then there will be extremely few who will wish to travel all the way from west to east or vice versa. So from the west the river taxis could terminate near Avon Street car park and from the east just above Pulteney Wier. I still believe this should be explored before generating yet more roads. Sadly I have realised over the years that it is too much to expect BANES to consider anything beyond the conventional - the tired 1960s design approved for Western Riverside proves the point!”
by rogerh, Batth
Wednesday, October 08 2008, 8:30PM
“Anyone except a local council, that is, which isn't allowed to compete with a commercial service.”
by rogerh, Bath
Wednesday, October 08 2008, 8:14PM
“Remove their licence and get someone else in
You can't remove their licence as they don't have one. Thanks to deregulation anyone can run a bus service (outside London) as long as they give 56 days' notice of starting a new route, ending a route or changing a timetable. All that's required is a road-worthy bus and a driver with a PSV licence.”
by Martin, Bath
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 5:34PM
“Thank Hugh, that is great. It is such a good idea to have something like that which allows people to see the background/history of an ongoing story, to see how it has developed and how people's view may have changed.”
by Matt, Bath
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 3:24PM
“My concern is that the BRT buses are going to run empty for most of the day like the P&R buses do now! Let's face it, the BRT is designed for commuters and shoppers who don't live in Bath. They need to sort out public transport IN Bath first and change peoples attitudes (i.e. people who drive 1/2 mile down the road to the shops).”
by Hugh Dixon, Bath News & Media
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 3:23PM
“Martin, unfortunately it isn't possible to arrange the comments in the way you suggest as they are intended to allow readers to respond to individual articles, and are pretty much tied to them.
However, I have set up a new channel featuring letters and news reports that mention "BRT" or "Bath Rapid Transit". You can find it at http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/brt. Content goes back as far as our site redesign in early September. Hope this helps.”
by too poor for public transport (again), Bath
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 3:16PM
“I think that I put the following comment in the wrong discussion, here seems like a much better place:
I think that we should have a car free city centre. I also think that we should have a free/very cheap and effective park and ride service so that the centre CAN be car free. The simple fact of the matter is that I would love to get rid of my increasingly expensive car and use the buses, however I refuse to spend twice as much money on something that is half as effective. Why should I spend longer getting to my poorly paid job, standing around for ages waiting for a bus that never turns up (usually when it's raining like today), dealing with other disgruntled members of the Bath workforce and generally having a miserable time? First are a joke, both First Buses and FGW are nothing short of a complete disgrace who overcharge and under perform and whats worse THEY ARE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH IT because they use underhand tactics to remove any competition that gets in the way (Bath Bus Company). Remove their licence and get someone else in.”
by Pip again, Entry Hill
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 12:57PM
“I got the bus for the first time yesterday from the station to St Martin's Hospital, the nearest stop to my house. It was £2.05 then I had to walk for ten minutes to get home. If I make that journey with a friend, it is £4.10 in total. A cab from the city centre to my door is just over £5 - what incentive do i have to use buses? They are cold, slow, and full. I always fond Bath cabs and drivers to be clean, polite and very efficient. Of course, assuming the cabs can use the new bus route, this could be the way forwards!”
by Alex Schlesinger, London Road, Bath
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 11:22AM
“The situation is that the government has offered bath £54 million of your money to spend on dealing with urban traffic...and the council are going to spend it, come what may.
The fact that the scheme will not solve any problems is neither here nor there. After all they spent £75 million on the Batheaston Bypass, which is two miles long, and every one queues up to get off it, half way along its length. Yes, the RTM will be a waste of time and money.
Let`s face it, its only real purpose is to get shoppers to the new Southgate development and the multinational shops who will be calling the shots for how Bath is run, from now on.”
by Martin, Bath
Tuesday, October 07 2008, 11:21AM
“Every BRT story attracts the same sort of comments each time and a lot of them. Is it possible to put all past and present comments in one place instead of on each story to stop people having to repeat themselves? This might actually help the discussion move forward as it would not have to be built from scratch each time.”