Bath & North East Somerset Council has welcomed an announcement that the West of England Combined Authority is to receive a £3m share of a national fund to boost walking and cycling – and has committed to ensuring consultation plans are in place to engage with residents on proposed schemes.
The investment, announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday (Friday 13 November), will see new safe routes for people to walk and cycle safely put in place in 2021, and will be shared across the three unitary authorities including Bath and North East Somerset.
Joint Cabinet member for Transport Services Councillor Joanna Wright said: “We’re pleased that the government have agreed to make this investment, but we will need to look at the details of the exact funding and other arrangements on the table, and their implications both for the specific schemes we take forward and how we engage with residents.”
The council has committed to establishing consultation and monitoring plans on schemes to ensure they support local solutions, contribute to Bath and North East Somerset Council’s wider transport vision and have local support.
Councillor Joanna Wright added: “We will ensure there are plans in place to meet local concerns and use local knowledge as we progress schemes. Promoting active travel is the foundation stone of the ambitious transport agenda of this administration, and we will work closely with local communities to deliver this.”
The council will now consider the details of the government’s funding announcement. Further details including next steps will be made available following this.
Adam Reynolds from Walk Ride Bath gives a very good guide to the ten funded projects that relate to Bath.
Really not happy with the title “Safe routes for cyclists”. “Safe routes for people like you and me”
The cyclists on our roads are primarily men aged 20-50 who can handle the hostile nature of our road space. I went out yesterday to grab some bread from town and cycled back up to Bear Flat along Wellsway. I counted. Of 11 cars that passed me 4 did a close pass. One did an extremely close pass and I could touch their window.
Using the term cyclists is journalism for creating an outlier group. The Entry Hill Low Traffic Neighbourhood will create a fantastic walking and cycling route that will enable kids to safely get from Fox Hill to Beechen Cliff School. The Circus/Sion Hill LTN will enable tourist and residents to more easily cross Gay Street on their way to the Circus. It is not for “cyclists”. It’s for all of us.