Nicholas Coombes

BathNES council insists that a zebra crossing for Bathwick Hill depends on the number of cars and people using the road and paths. We will only be given a zebra crossing if the road is ‘busy’ enough.

A twelve hour traffic survey was undertaken last week, although I did point out that this was during the University holidays. I was sent a copy of the results today and discussed them with the BathNES traffic team leader this evening at a meeting about pedestrian and cycle safety.

To our surprise, even during the holidays and before Tesco opens, Bathwick Hill is already busy enough to warrant a zebra crossing. The threshold figure for traffic volume is exceeded during both morning and evening rush hours and pedestrian flow is steady throughout the day, with an unexpected peak around 10am.

There is now clear evidence of a need for a zebra crossing from the survey figures and evidence of local demand from our protest and petition (www.ourcampaign.org.uk/bathwickcrossing). Armand and I shall be using this information to push even harder for funding for this crossing from the Conservative council.

You may find the University of Wessex surprisingly familiar; it is the fictional establishment featured in Bonekickers, the BBC drama to start on Tuesday evening, filmed on the Bath University campus. I’m not getting paid by the BBC to plug this, but I am looking forward to it, if only to see how many Bath locations I recognise and which bits of the Uni they chose not to film! It’s on next Tuesday, 9pm on BBC1.

 Also in culture news, this week is the last before the Holburne closes for their 2 year renovation and re-build process. Hurry along to see the Bath Spa University show and the Aardman exhibition.

The highways department will be conducting a traffic survey to asses the need for a zebra crossing over Bathwick Hill on Thursday 3rd July.

Cllr Coombes has pointed out that the results of this survey will soon be irrelevant as the opening of Tesco will change traffic and pedestrian patterns and more importantly the University is on Summer holidays and so the 12,000 students and 2,600 staff will be mostly missing from the statistics. The traffic team leader has suggested that another survey may be carried out in the future.

It is surprising that a traffic survey has not been carried out to date, despite the Tesco application going to a public enquiry in which the council was fighting a case to reject on highways grounds. Elgar may be gone, but the new Tory on traffic doesn’t seem to be doing any better. The department he is responsible continues to be understaffed; in the past year there have been three different individuals responsible for the Bathwick Hill crossing.

Staff shortage has also delayed the writing of the report needed so that a decision can be taken on the loading bay. It was mostly written this morning and should be going for a cabinet decision in two weeks time. This means that the loading bay could be painted, and Tesco opening, mid-August at the earliest.

Cllr Nicholas Coombes presented a set of written questions to the Conservative Cabinet this week, including three on the zebra crossing on the Tesco site. A single response was provided to all questions which answered none of them:

Q - does the demonstration of 50 protesters show clear public demand?

Q - do the accidents at the site, including a fatality, show a high level of pedestrian risk?

Q - if Tesco were to provide extra funding, would it be spent on a zebra crossing?

A - Pedestrian crossings require fulfilment of numerical criteria relating to vehicles and pedestrians. A count is programmed for early July.

It appears that the cabinet member is unwilling to commit to an answer even now, one year after Tesco were given planning permission. It is also odd that a pedestrian and traffic survey is only being planned now, when surely one should have been prepared for the Tesco planning enquiry last year and certainly for the changes made to the pedestrian crossing.

—–

The full question and answer session is now available at https://sslvpn.bathnes.gov.uk/http/cis/committee_papers/Executive/Exec080625Mins/080625zAppx01QA.pdf

Yesterday I graduated from Bath University with a degree in architecture.

The Bath University Architecture School is recognised as one of the best in the country (Times = #2 in UK, Independent = #3, Guardian = #4) and architecture commonly held as one of the most difficult degrees (”archi-torture”), so I am very please to have successfuly graduated. Having worked in architecture practices on placement over the last few years, a full time job is much easier than an architecture degree; although despite its time demands student life did allow more flexibility.

I now plan a holiday followed by a job; sadly a councillor’s allowance is not sufficient to keep me fed and answering emails. My colleague, Cllr Armand Edwards, shall be doing twice the work while I’m away, I doubt anyone will even notice my absence for a few weeks!

While some of the questions from the nice lady at the Chron were a tad predictable (what’s it like being a councillor?…) she did raise an interesting point. Will Bathwick residents respect an employed councillor more than a student one? Even if we are to assume an inherent prejudice against youth, I hope that after our first year of office most people will acknowledge the work which Armand and I have done regardless of employment status. Then again, most Bathwick residents are actually students themselves, living on the Claverton campus.

Finally, am I going to give up my council position now that I have graduated? No. I didn’t put that much effort into the election campaign to give it up after just one year!

The whole of Bath’s major road network is to be covered by an Air Quality Management Area to tackle unsafe levels of air pollution.

Originally the AQMA covered the London Road up to the Cleveland Bridge, a road with officially the worst air quality in Britain. This being insufficient, the entire major road network is to be included; in Bathwick this inlcudes Bathwick Street and the Warmininster Road until Minster Way. This change will come into effect on 30th July, following a decision made by the cabinet a few months ago.

An Air Quality Management Zone is derrived from the Environment Act and designates an area of special attention for pollution initiatives. When the AQMA was declared for the London Road in 2002, five specific measures were stated. None of these have yet been implemented.

Both the Bath Chronicle and the Western Daily Press have included our Bathwick Zebra story this week (though I wasn’t too impressed with the WDP headline!).

Cllr Gerrish (Con, Keynsham N), the cabinet member responsible, is quoted: ”I have instructed highways officers to undertake measurements of footfall to establish whether the point meets statutory criteria for a crossing. I must wait until I have the factural information that this is a well used crossing point before anything else can be done.”

I have posted two questiosn to him at the next cabinet meeting asking “Does the cabinet member agree that last week’s demonstration of 50 protesters on Bathwick Hill show a clear public demand for a zebra crossing over the canal bridge? Further, do the many accidents, including a fatality in 2006, show the high level of pedestrian risk in this location.” He has previously been uncommital answering these sort of questions in the past.

In pouring rain, Liberal Democrat councillors got on their bikes to support national cycle week this morning. Cllrs Nicholas Coombes, Paul Crossley, Roger Symmonds, Ian Gilchrist, Cherry Beath and Mayor Tim Ball came to BathNES council’s cycle breakfast in the Abbey Courtyard. Conservative Vice-Chair of the council, Bryan Chalker, drove his notoriously toxic trabant to the event, effectively cancelling out the carbon savings of the other participants!

Neither Bathwick councillor, Nicholas or Armand, have a car; both walk, cycle or bus around the city. With a little practice, even Bathwick Hill is possible for a keen cyclist! Unfortunately Nicholas’ pledge to cycle to all meetings this week went awry when a last minute puncture forced him to walk to the BRSLI yesterday, but now the bike is ready for an event at Bath Spa University later today.

Ziggy the Zebra joined fifty protesters for a zebra crossing on Bathwick Hill. The stunt was organised by Cllr Nicholas Coombes to raise the priority of the scheme within the council.

Tesco have paid for come improvements to the crossing, now complete. If their loading bay gets approval, which is expected next week, then they will be able to open their store when the bay is marked on. It is now down to BathNES council to fund extra work needed for the zebra crossing requested by local residents.

Your Bathwick councillors insisted that the changes to the crossing (paid for by Tesco) should be a first step towards a zebra crossing. However, Cllr Coombes has now discovered that the Conservative Cabinet have not allocated any funds to do this work in the next financial year. The Cabinet member in charge (Cllr Charles Gerrish, Con, Keynsham North) will not make any commitment and his department appear to be backtracking.

Today’s demonstration, attended by fifty local people, three dogs and a zebra, has shown the strength of feeling in the area and the huge local demand for a zebra crossing on Bathwick Hill. This will make a diference to the priority of the scheme and will provide Cllrs Coombes and Edwards vital support in their campaign with the traffic department.

If you weren’t able to sign the petition on the day, please add your name to www.ourcampaign.org.uk/bathwickcrossing. Thanks.

Join us for a publicity stunt to get our zebra crossing! Meet 4:30pm on Monday 16th outside Tesco, with Ziggy the Zebra.

BathNES council are becoming increasingly evasive about a zebra crossing for Bathwick Hill. The half finished works were designed to be completed as a zebra crossing when council funding became available, but now the Conservatives are questioning whether one is necessary at all. We need to show the public demand for a completed crossing.

We are holding a photo stunt on Monday to grab the attention of the media, the council and possibly Tesco; we will be aided by Ziggy, our life-size ‘zebra’ to make a photogenic image. Please join in to give us a big crowd of people for the cameras!

Please remember to sign the petition too at www.ourcampaign.org.uk/bathwickcrossing