People who took part in a consultation for seven new residents’ parking zones in Bath are being thanked for their feedback.
More than 1,100 responses were received online, and in addition residents and businesses took part in a series of events to have their say.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has put forward proposals to help create healthier and safer streets linked to the council’s Liveable Neighbourhoods plans.
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.
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
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “I want to thank everyone who has had their say either online or by coming along to the face-to-face events we set up. It’s important that we get a range of views in order to weigh up these schemes. We all want healthier and safer streets, but this has to be done while balancing people’s needs.”
All the feedback is now being analysed and a report prepared to decide whether to proceed to the next stage, which is advertising the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) for further comment or objections.
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 shared their views in a consultation on this proposal, and a formal consultation on the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is currently under way.
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 under way with residents co-designing 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 – especially for short journeys – as part of the council’s Journey to Net Zero.
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)
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.
