New plans for the future of transport across the West of England are being drawn up by the Combined Authority, which includes Bath and North East Somerset Council. The objective is to help economic development but also to change the way people think about the ways in which they travel. Both admirable aspirations.
As a historian, I thought it would be informative, before responding on behalf of our members, to take a look back. Thanks to my wife’s care in preserving documentation, I was able to reflect on an article written almost 20 years ago by Richard Hall, then President of Bath Chamber of Commerce, who set out his aspirations for transport.
It made for chilling reading because what he was saying almost two decades ago is still as relevant today.
He spoke about having a Park and Ride to the East of Bath, a North-South by-pass, much more pedestrianisation with parking provision around the edges and a rapid transit system between Bristol and Bath. Incredibly he even mused on proposals for a new stadium on the Recreation Ground for Bath Rugby and suggested that by now they would be playing on a state of the art ground somewhere slightly west of the main Western Riverside development with a rail stop and substantial parking.
It’s enough to make you weep. What have we been doing for 20 years, and more importantly what are we going to do in the next twenty?
The latest draft plan shows there is still an appetite for an eastern Park and Ride and the link road between the A36 and A46 is once again on a long list of possible schemes for the future. There’s also enthusiasm about improving public transport provision between Bath and Bristol but if you create more bus lanes you reduce road capacity and risk creating horrendous congestion unless people find the service so good, reliable and cheap that they leave their cars at home.
The consultation document also acknowledges that to deliver the schemes set out would need a funding stream much greater than has been achieved in any previous twenty-year period. It is obvious that difficult decisions will have to be made in terms of prioritisation and it’s vital that our representatives make a strong case for our district otherwise there is a risk that the bulk of investment goes into Bristol or is spent along the M4 corridor, which admittedly does have scope for huge expansion.
In the next few weeks we’ll have a chance to vote in the local election. Let’s hope whoever is elected can find a way of pressing the transport accelerator and finally get us out of the slow lane.
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