Date published: 2024-01-04 | Category: Improving people's lives, Roads, travel and transport, Delivering for local residents
A detailed update on an ambitious scheme to improve residential streets and encourage safe, active and more sustainable forms of travel in Bath & North East Somerset is set to go before councillors.
The Liveable Neighbourhoods programme, which has engaged residents to help co-design improvements, will be scrutinised by the Climate Emergency & Sustainability Scrutiny Panel, when it meets on Thursday January 11.
A report before councillors outlines the decisions, which have been made since the programme launched in 2020, and updates the panel on through-traffic restrictions in three current trial sites as well as proposals to introduce through traffic restrictions on a further five residential roads.
It also sets out the funding and next steps for the full programme, which would see more schemes rolled out in more communities, subject to the successful submission of a Full Business Case (FBC) to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to access a grant of £4.7m from the City Regional Sustainable Transport (CRSTS) Fund.
The report says the total budget allocated for the wider Liveable Neighbourhood programme is £7.2m, of which £4.7m is funded by CRSTS grant and £2.5m is made up of contributions from Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “A key priority for the council is to increase travel choices whilst making communities safer and healthier places, and our Liveable Neighbourhoods programme is helping to achieve this. The report sets out very clearly what we have achieved to date, including the extensive co-design work undertaken with residents, the decisions which have been taken and our future plans.
“Looking to the future we will continue to work with councillors and communities in each of the Liveable Neighbourhood areas to further understand local priorities and issues, and which interventions would address these based on their affordability, feasibility and benefit in line with West Of England Combined Authority funding criteria.”
Following on from the adoption of the Liveable Neighbourhood Strategy, three trial schemes were introduced in November 2022 using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs). The schemes are in Southlands, Weston Church Street, Widcombe, and Queen Charlton Lane, Whitchurch Village. Information and data from public surveys, traffic and air quality monitoring has been collected ahead of a decision on the future of all three.
A Single Member Decision report on the schemes will be published which could then be followed by a statutory process to determine if the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order should be converted into a Traffic Regulation to make each scheme permanent.
More information on the Council’s Liveable Neighbourhood Programme can be found at www.bathnes.gov.uk/liveableneighbourhoods.