Proposals for seven new residents’ parking zones in Bath – to help create healthier and safer streets linked to Liveable Neighbourhoods plans – are now up for consultation.
The schemes aim to tackle commuter parking and reduce vehicle intrusion into largely residential neighbourhoods, while also improving air quality and the environment for the local community.
People living in and around the zones, as well as anyone regularly travelling into them, are being encouraged to read more about the proposals and have their say via an online survey.
The public consultations for all seven proposed zones run until Thursday, 2 June at 5pm at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/current-consultations. Those without access to the internet can obtain further information and a printed questionnaire by calling Council Connect on 01225 39 40 41.
People are also urged to attend an in-person or online event to learn more about the proposals and have any questions answered. Webinar links will be published closer to the date of the online event at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/current-consultations
The proposed zones are:
- Chelsea Rd, Foxcombe Rd Area *
- Lyme Gardens, Charmouth Rd Area *
- Sion Hill, Summerhill Road Area
- Audley Grove, Edward Street, St Michaels Area
- Walcot, Snow Hill, Claremont Rd Area *
- Entry Hill Area *
- Beacon Hill Area
Following the consultation, the council will review the responses received and decide whether to proceed to the next stage, which is advertising the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) for further comment or objections.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “We want to hear from people living in the proposed zones and those nearby or who regularly travel into them in order to get a range of views.
“Residents with permits may gain more opportunities to park close to their homes and benefit from reduced traffic flow and improved air quality. However, we also recognise that there are costs attached to permits and that a zone may not address the lack of parking where there are high levels of car ownership among households within a zone.
“Overall we want to create healthier and safer streets while balancing people’s needs – and ultimately through our Journey to Net Zero ambitions, shift the way people get around, reduce emissions, improve air quality, tackle congestion and reduce the impact of travel on the climate.”
The residents’ parking zone proposals came out of several public consultations on the council’s Liveable Neighbourhoods programme, and how the council can help communities to create healthier, safer streets. These seven are in addition to a proposed RPZ scheme for Oldfield Park and Westmoreland. More than 700 people have already shared their views in a consultation on this proposal, and the next step is the formal consultation on the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) later this summer.
Residents’ parking zones are just one of a range of interventions available to local communities looking to create Liveable Neighbourhoods. In four of the seven zones being proposed (asterisked in the list above), workshops are also being planned with communities where residents will co-design additional interventions, with the support of transport experts, to help further reduce the dominance of vehicles and make it safer and easier for people to walk, cycle or wheel.
The council had more than 1,600 responses to an engagement at the end of last year on its 15 priority Liveable Neighbourhood areas. Many areas expressed a wish for changes to improve pedestrian safety, reduce rat-running and speeding, and improve cycling infrastructure. Additionally, a desire for general improvement of the public realm was expressed.
Following on from this engagement, five pilot interventions were selected to proceed straight to preliminary design prior to public consultation. Work is also set to start in May on the next stage of co-designing interventions with communities in response to the specific issues raised by residents in the 15 priority areas.
For your further information.
Last year the council allocated an initial £2.2m to develop and deliver Liveable Neighbourhood schemes. Areas were selected for Liveable Neighbourhood treatment by cabinet in June 2021.
The 15 Liveable Neighbourhood areas are:
- Mount Road (Southdown, Bath)
- Area bounded by Sydney Place, Great Pulteney Street, St Johns Road and Bathwick Street (Bathwick, Bath)
- Whitchurch and Queen Charlton Village (Publow with Whitchurch and Saltford)
- Circus, Lower Lansdown, Marlborough Buildings, Royal Victoria Park and Cork Street area (Kingsmead and Lansdown, Bath)
- Oldfield Lane and First, Second and Third Avenue (Oldfield Park, Bath)
- London Road, Snow Hill, Kensington Gardens and adjacent roads, (Walcot, Bath) Phase 1
- Church Street and Prior Park Road (Widcombe and Lyncombe, Bath)
- Chelsea Road, Foxcombe Road (Newbridge, Bath)
- Entry Hill (Widcombe and Lyncombe, Bath)
- Southlands, Weston, Bath
- Morris Lane and Bannerdown (Batheaston, Bathavon North)
- (New) Sydney Place and Sydney Road (Bathwick, Bath)
- Egerton Road and Cotswold Road (Moorlands, Bath)
- Temple Cloud (Mendip)
- Lyme Road and Charmouth Road (Newbridge, Bath)
For the five pilot interventions, preliminary designs will be drawn up and consulted on before they are trialled in situ for further comment and amends by the public. These pilot interventions are in the following locations:
- Queen Charlton Lane, Whitchurch (Publow with Whitchurch and Saltford)
- Southlands (Weston, Bath)
- Church Street (Widcombe and Lyncombe, Bath)
- Royal Victoria Park, Bath (Kingsmead and Lansdown, Bath)
- Cork Street and Tennyson Road (Kingsmead and Lansdown, Bath)
The remaining areas will all progress to a co-design phase with the community in mid-May.
Journey to Net Zero is a longer-term plan to reduce the environmental impact of transport in Bath and to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face:
- Combatting climate change
- Improving air quality
- Improving health and wellbeing
- Tackling congestion
Journey to Net Zero, focuses on providing transport infrastructure and environments that will encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport, by making them a genuine alternative to the car while maintaining access for those whose needs cannot easily be met by more sustainable modes of transport.
Looking at Census 2011 commute to work data, about 27,000 commuters state they drove into the city, but looking at parking data, only about 4,000 used provided car parks. This is a city that has a failing Clean Air Zone and Park and Ride sites that are half empty. Further analysis showed a large number of Bath residents driving to work in Bath. Resident Parking Zones tackle anti-social “hide and stride” parking and discourage short car journeys. If we truly want to tackle traffic and air pollution in Bath, then these measures are a necessary part of the “Journey to Net Zero”
With the rumour being that the government will begin to put in place legislation to legalise eScooters in the Queen’s speech on the 10th of May, parking up in Twerton and grabbing your fold-out eScooter from the boot of your car and zooming into the city centre along the river path is going to become a very attractive legal proposition.
For the city to truly tackle tackle its enormous traffic problems that are causing illegal levels of Air Pollution, removing “free” parking in *all* residential areas will eventually need to happen. It is important to recogniser there is no such thing as free parking. Somewhere somebody is paying the price and in Bath & North East Somerset, it’s estimated about 100 people die early each year from air pollution.
Oh less busy residential areas also make it much more attractive for walking/wheeling and cycling.