Safety fears as marshals withdrawn

The decision to withdraw marshals who patrolled a busy Bath coach drop-off point will lead to ‘mayhem’, fears the boss of a public transport firm. Safe and Sound has been under contract from Bath and North East Somerset Council to safely coordinate buses, coaches and delivery vans around stops in Terrace Walk and North Parade for years. The two marshals protected the public from the 150 daily journeys by coaches full of tourists, to allocate vehicles to correct bays and to keep an eye out for potential terrorist activity. But their roles were axed by B&NES on Sunday and, since then, vehicles have allegedly been seen parking illegally, coach drivers have had to wait longer for bays and many people have expressed concerns over people’s safety. Martin Curtis, managing director of Bath Bus Company, said: “This will cause mayhem. They (the marshals) carried out an essential job. “I don’t believe the council understands the consequences of this measure. They have created a huge problem by withdrawing the marshals and we don’t know why. “Hundreds of schoolchildren come here and tourists come in, too. I am very concerned about people’s safety. “We have two bays that are used for airport and tour buses. They come in every 30 minutes. “Now buses are having to reverse into this busy road because vans are coming in and blocking the way through. “It is costing us and distracting us continually as we have to keep buses flowing through correctly. There are penalties for us not running buses on time. “The reduction of the Riverside coach park, which went from over 40 coaches to around a dozen last year, has had a big knock on effect. “When the council reduced the parking it didn’t plan where coaches would go – now we have this big problem.” Independent traders in the area have also expressed concerns about the removal of the narshals. Edward Kirk, owner of the Terrace Walk school uniform shop Scholars, has described the decision as ‘nonsensical.’ “This is an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “I do not know how this place can run safely without them. The council considered there was a need for the marshals in the first place. The demand has not been reduced and the same issues are still there, but now it is even worse. It makes no sense. “The council may have carried out a fresh risk assessment and deemed it is safe or maybe it is a cost-cutting measure. “This is just nonsensical. The marshals were key.” The triangle area has three bays for coaches and buses and several for smaller loading bays, but other vehicles are parking here and causing congestion. Bath and North East Somerset Council has been contacted for a comment.