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Search forIs it time for Bath to ban city centre coaches?
Thursday, December 04, 2008, 09:03
At present, large numbers of coaches are trying to navigate around the streets of Bath. They cause daily chaos as they enter Bennett Street or Gay Street and when they reach The Circus they drive around it twice before then causing further traffic chaos while trying to get back onto Lansdown Road or the very dangerous A4 George Street/Gay Street junction.
In many cases these coaches never stop in the city and therefore bring no benefit to the Bath economy.
Most passengers do not get off these coaches nor do they provide any footfall in the city. They do not spend any money in the shops, museums and restaurants. However, these coaches all cause considerable traffic congestion, excessive levels of pollution and are frequently less than half full.
In most comparable World Heritage cities, such as Salzburg, all coaches have to stop at designated coach parks, pay the city authorities a substantial parking fee and are obliged to discharge their passengers who then walk around the city spending and supporting that city's economy.
Bath is currently using a temporary bus station that will be surplus to requirements in 2009 when the new SouthGate bus/train interchange is opened. What a wonderful opportunity this bus station would provide to create an additional coach park adjacent to the currently under-used one.
A city coach ban along with the provision of adequate coach parking would provide Bath with a unique opportunity to gain substantial additional revenue. At present coach parking charges are derisory and a charge of £50 a day would be perfectly appropriate and bring in much-needed additional revenue.
At the same time this single simple move would boost the city's economy by getting people off these coaches and into the city where they can spend their money. At a stroke it would greatly reduce the congestion and pollution caused by these vehicles driving around the narrow streets of this already hopelessly congested city.
There is absolutely no need nor any justification for coaches to enter the city centre to cause daily chaos for many with little if any commercial benefit for Bath while at the same time causing considerable daily environmental damage.
I appeal to the council to take the initiative on this matter for the benefit of everyone who works in, lives in and visits Bath.
R P DAVIES Gay Street, Bath
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