A new two-way traffic system around Avon Street car park will go live this month in the latest major milestone for the Bath Quays Waterside flood mitigation scheme.
From Monday 16th May, traffic currently using Green Park Road will be permanently diverted around the north of the Avon Street car park via Corn Street and the new road link that has been created through the Riverside Coach Park.
Under the new system, Ambury will remain one-way but with the existing buses-only restriction removed, and a new exit onto Ambury from the Avon Street car park has also been created, to replace the current exit onto Green Park Road.
The entrance to the car park is unchanged and will remain on Corn Street.
The Riverside coach park and café will remain open, although the coach park is now operating as a short term parking facility only, with long term coach parking available at the First Bus depot at Weston Island.
Although Green Park Road will be closed to motorised traffic, a route along will be retained for pedestrians and cyclists for use at completion of the scheme.
The new road layout will enable the adjacent river bank to be widened, providing greater river capacity for flood events, as part of the £6.22m Bath & North East Somerset Council and Environment Agency Bath Quays Waterside project.
The project will reduce flood risk for more than 100 existing properties, reconnect the city centre to the riverside with a new waterside park, and allow Bath Quays to develop as a new home for businesses.
Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “This change in road layout is a big milestone in the Bath Quays Waterside project, which will help us to realise an exciting vision to re-connect Bath to its riverside, create new office space and a new riverside park.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this change in road layout but we will have lots of advance warning signs in place to ensure the smoothest transition possible.
“All of the work in this investment will help to open up the city centre to the riverside and ultimately lead to the development of new space for home-grown and growing businesses.”
The Bath Quays Waterside project will combine flood mitigation measures with new open spaces for people to enjoy.
As well as the south facing riverside park, the flood works will provide the opportunity for new workspace to be constructed on both sides of the river and linked by a brand new pedestrian and cyclist bridge. The workspace will be at the heart of Bath Quays on both sides of the river with the potential to create more than 2,000 new jobs in the city.
The next phase of flood works will involve the excavation of the north river bank between Churchill Bridge and Green Park, allowing the widening of the river bank, which will improve the River Avon’s ability to convey flood water, and establish the new riverside public open space.
This riverside work will require the riverside path between Green Park and Broad Quay to be closed on occasions, but pedestrians and cyclists will only be diverted when necessary and signs will be in place.
With other work currently underway to replace the Destructor Bridge at Midland Road, this means the towpath will be closed at times from Windsor Bridge to Broad Quay.
It is expected the Destructor Bridge will be completed and open in the summer.
Use of the Broad Quays moorings will also be affected during the river widening. Updates on the timescales for this, the extent of moorings affected and details of alternative mooring arrangements will be issued later this year.
The Council anticipate that this first phase of flood works will be complete by the end of 2016, with the final phase of Bath Quays Waterside flood defence works to be completed in 2017/2018.
