Catering to needs of all, not just loudest

In a letter last week we were invited to “imagine the effect of the CAZ, traffic-free neighbourhoods and closing of Cleveland Bridge... a looming nightmare”.

Yes, let us all imagine the effect. The CAZ, a starting point in bringing down illegally high levels of pollution, which has been shown to be particularly damaging to the lungs of children. Nightmare.

Low traffic neighbourhoods, which prevent (often illegally fast) through traffic on residential streets so parents can worry a little bit less about their children playing out with their peers.

Safer streets, which empower children to walk, cycle and scoot to school at a time when one in three leave primary school overweight. Nightmare.

A transport policy which caters for the needs of marginalised users such as women, hugely under-represented in cycling, largely because they feel (rightly) that being forced to mingle with motor vehicles is dangerous. Cycling is thus dominated by men in tights – nightmare indeed!

People with mobility challenges (who shockingly do not all want to drive everywhere) and children are marginalised for the same reasons.

What a nightmare it is that they will still be able to walk/scoot/ bicycle/tricycle/cartwheel over the Cleveland Bridge when it is closed to motor vehicles ONLY.

I think our councillors can sleep soundly. In the face of close to zero support from national government (which continues to dish out generous billion-pound subsidies to allow motoring to stay artificially cheap) they are at least trying to cater for the needs not of those who shout the

loudest but of all residents of Bath. Not an easy task, and the success (or not) of which can ultimately be judged at the ballot box.

Guy Hodgson Weston