This evening the DCC voted 7-5 to be minded to permit the Newbridge planning application.Disregarding guidance that financial issues are not material considerations in planning matters, the threat of losing the DfT funding was the overriding concern. As a result, the application was pushed through.
The fight goes on!
As residents of Old Newbridge Hill my wife and I have noticed an unacceptable increase in the through traffic using it all day and every day, but it is especially bad during peak morning and evening rush hours. Nothing has ever been done to improve this, except to build a "chicane" pavement at the top of the hill. This has done absolutely nothing to improve traffic flow. Except for proposed traffic lights at the junction with Newbridge Road/Brasmill Lane/Old Newbridge Hill nothing is in the plans to improve life for us! The lights will no doubt make matters worse for traffic snarled up on the Hill depending on their sequence. The increased Park & Ride spaces will certainly add to this traffic in due course.
ReplyDeleteB&NES have one thing on their mind - the £50 million from DfT and to hell with the rest of us!!
Len R
Old Newbridge Hill
Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteWe agree! Please see our post 'Total gridlock' on 22 July, http://newbridgematters.blogspot.com/2009/07/total-gridlock.html
Its a shame that this site feels it must stop BANES about thinking and more importantly doing something about the Traffic congestion in all parts of the city and Newbridge has to play its part! We have an old railway line which should be used and is just right for the right application.
ReplyDeleteSo what should it be? Well;
* quiet, electric or trams
* a real interest in getting people onto public transport - cheap tickets for all especially if you buy in bulk
* make the whole of Bath City Centre a walking area - but improve parking outside - and make sure the drop of points don't cause congestion (which they do now)
* all deliveries and that ALL must be made before 10.00 am and after 6.00 pm evereywhere
* have a referendum on the new proposals but only for Bath residents
* lets have trams - they work everywhere in Europe
* let older people use taxis at a susidised rate
The truth is BANES and more importantly its full time officers have high ideals but low integrity and think its their money they are spending and not ours! Inclusion is all about pressure groups like this one and not enough about thinking and proposing "best" solutions - not the lowets cost or the politically acceptable or delivereable. Look at the town and our forebears they built to last and with low maintenance, shouldn't we do the same?
Paul N
Thank you for your observations.
ReplyDeleteWe apologise if we've given the impression we wish to stop B&NES thinking about and tackling traffic congestion. That certainly was not our intention. In other posts on this site we have stated that we are all for solutions to these issues. However, we feel strongly that the proposals put forward are not feasible and will not achieve their stated aims - this is with respect to Bath as a whole, not just Newbridge.
Your suggestions are most interesting and we have proposed a number of them, plus others, to B&NES officers (not the taxi one for older people - hadn't thought of that!). Unfortunately, B&NES refuses to consider alternatives and has dismissed every possibility out of hand.
In our opinion we have a fairly comprehensive bus service in Bath, it is simply too expensive and unreliable at present. We have suggested B&NES subsidise bus fares for Bath residents, for example make all journeys £1 or 50p for children and OAPs. Then people would use the bus and leave their cars at home; this would cover many objectives of the BTP in one easy step and in theory still mean B&NES is eligible for the DfT grant. In addition, we have promoted the school bus idea to B&NES; as you are no doubt aware this too has recently been shelved.
The referendum point is a great one and be assured we are working on it.