Issue - meetings

The council consulted on three proposed active travel schemes in February and March this year. A decision needs to be made on whether those schemes should proceed to the next stage of consultation.

Two of the three schemes would be funded from the government’s Active Travel Fund. The government, in recent funding announcements, withheld funds from authorities that did not submit bids or those that were considered weak. There are potential implications on future government funding for active travel schemes if they do not go ahead or if they are not built in accordance with the latest design standards.

This report outlines the results from the consultation, provides options and potential amendments to the proposals to take account of feedback from the consultation, and recommends next steps.

Councillor Sarah Warren introduced the report by reading out the following statement:

‘The Cabinet will be considering and voting on this item with regard to amended drawings UBR 3 and 4, now updated on the council website. These corrected drawings show the ‘buffer’ area at one of the parking bays and bus stops that had been accidentally omitted.

I would like to thank everyone who submitted questions. It hasn’t been possible to answer them all before the meeting. If any are not answered either within the report, or through this evening’s discussion, they should be emailed to ActiveTravel_FundConsultation@bathnes.gov.uk .

On 14 Mar 2019, a climate emergency was declared here in the Guildhall. Many councillors that day, typically of extensive life experience, told how they had discussed the environmental crisis with their children and grandchildren, before deciding how to vote. Their youngsters had impressed upon them the enormity of the crisis, which looms large in young lives. And vote they did, some of you here tonight, almost unanimously, to reduce emissions to zero by 2030.

We know 29% of carbon emissions in B&NES come from land transport. Our greatest priority for reducing these is for each of us to drive less.

We also face a public health crisis: of obesity, of mental health, of air pollution affecting our lungs. These all originate in part from low levels of physical activity. The great news is that that feeling of the wind in your hair, cycling in safety, is not only great fun, but at the same time, it can help us tackle all of these problems. Commuting by bike is a great way to build a few minutes of exercise and happiness into your life on a daily basis.

As a Council, the main way we can influence travel behaviour is through the infrastructure on our roads. We know that the biggest impediment to taking up cycling is perceived danger, and we are going to change that in Bath and North East Somerset, starting with the Upper Bristol and Beckford Roads.

Now, you might have noticed, Cabinet, that Bath is not Milton Keynes. Our roads were designed before the advent of cars and even of bikes. There are purist cyclists in this city complaining that our plans are not perfect for cyclists in every way, and at the expense of other road users.

But we know that there are still people in Bath and North East Somerset who don’t cycle… (yet). We have listened to all responses as government asked us, and we hear that people have legitimate concerns. On the advice of our expert staff, and in line with best design practice, we have made changes to accommodate businesses and disabled residents, as well as other road users. In response to feedback, we have planned in improvements to pavements, spaces for loading, and additional residents’ parking.

Because of our narrow, historic streets, we have compromised cycle infrastructure in some areas, but let’s be clear, these cycle routes will still be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27