Bath’s transport boss is braced for a barrage of complaints about social distancing measures on the city’s streets but has urged residents to give them a chance.
Queuing with social distancing | Image © Lorna Roberts / Shutterstock.com
Pavements are being widened, access is being restricted and parking spaces are being removed to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe as the lockdown is eased and the roads get busier.
Councillor Joanna Wright said Government has promised funding but is setting Bath and North East Somerset Council up to fail, and it has no alternative but to press ahead without consulting first.
Responding to fears about the impact the measures will have on trade, she said local businesses will suffer if the country is forced back into lockdown.
The joint cabinet member for transport told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We have to move quickly. We have to deliver it in eight weeks to get the money.
“How do you do that and have a consultation? The Government have set us up to fail. If we didn’t do anything, people would ask why we didn’t take the money.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place.”
Traffic levels in Bath and North East Somerset have fallen by 60 per cent since the lockdown began and many residents have told the council they do not want to return to the high levels of congestion and poor air quality as the lockdown ends.
Cllr Wright said: “I don’t think I’m being authoritarian. We’ve told everyone not to use public transport unless they have to. If everyone gets in their cars you have pollution and gridlock. It’s not an option.
“We’re in unprecedented times and have to think differently. We need to come together as a community.”
Last week, South Gloucestershire Council removed a pop-up cycle lane in Filton after just five days after motorists said complained it caused “traffic chaos”.
Cllr Wright said B&NES Council will need resolve in the face of criticism: “I’m expecting a lot of complaints. To make any change you have to leave something in for three weeks to three months for people to realise it’s a sensible thing to do.
“One thing Covid gives us is an opportunity. If it’s a disaster in three months’ time, I will put my hands up. I don’t think that’s a political loss of face.
“I’m expecting a large backlash. I’ve already been receiving it.”
Shop owners in Moorland Road, Larkhall and other areas have already voiced fears the council’s social distancing measures will damage trade and hit vulnerable customers the hardest.
But Cllr Wright said studies have shown that traders frequently overestimate the importance of customers being able to park outside their premises, and there are good reasons why businesses like SouthGate have chosen to pedestrianise.
She added: “We need to do this because of public health. We’re in a pandemic. Thousands and thousands of people have died.
“How are we going to carry on unless we socially distance? If we have cars steaming around at speed there’s not going to be any business because you can’t get into the shops.
“If we go back to total lockdown, there’s no business for the local deli, the greengrocers or the pet shop. We want to protect these businesses and give them space.
“All that we’re asking is that you park a bit further away and walk a bit further.”
The council is widening pavements in 13 streets: Camden Road, St Saviours Road, Manvers Street, Monmouth Place, Monmouth Street, Moorland Road, North Parade, Queen Square, Somerset Street, Terrace Walk, Walcot Street, Westgate Buildings and Weston High Street.
From June 15 the council will also be closing Cheap Street, Westgate Street, Saw Close, Upper Borough Walls and York Street to motor vehicles between 10am and 6pm and removing the parking bays.
Future interventions could include pop-up cycle lanes, reducing speed limits, modal filters to prevent access for motor vehicles and changes to junctions to accommodate more cyclists.
Bath is the current focus due to the population density but other measures could be installed in North East Somerset.
A council report said: “Each location will be considered both in isolation and as part of the longer term wider strategic options to reduce the impact of motor vehicles on residents and visitors
“All schemes will be monitored and reviewed to ensure that they are achieving the outcomes necessary to alleviate social distancing issues and/or active travel benefits.
“Where schemes are not achieving the outcomes necessary or where the community provide feedback to how they can be improved they may be removed or altered accordingly.”
The measures align with the ideas behind low traffic neighbourhoods, a key manifesto pledge for the Liberal Democrat administration.
“We’d like to change behaviour in the long term,” said Cllr Wright, a former curator of photography at the Royal Geographical Society.
“Covid-19 isn’t going away any time soon. None of us know what this is going to look like.
“We have to try things and see how things work.
“Space is at a premium. What it looks like and how we use it is up to us as humans.
“I’m not against cars – I have a car. I also have a bike and I walk. I have a step-father in a wheelchair. I know what each of the spaces looks like.
“Why do we prioritise one thing over another?”
The council will continue to review the measures in line with Government guidance. Comments can be sent to [email protected].
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
