Lack of marshals ‘putting lives at risk’
Several business owners say marshals who once patrolled a busy coach drop-off point in Bath must be reinstated as it is only a ‘matter of time’ before someone is killed.
In October, Bath and North East Somerset Council chose to withdraw the marshals whose job was to safely co-ordinate buses, coaches and delivery vans around Terrace Walk, Bog Island and North Parade. The two marshals, who worked one at a time, were there to protect the public from the 100-plus daily journeys by coaches full of tourists, to allocate vehicles to correct bays and to keep an eye out for potential terrorist activity. B&NES said the marshal service would likely return in the spring of 2019, but nearby businesses say they are needed right now, or else it could be too late. Giuseppe Pace, who runs the hairdresser Giuseppe’s of Bath in Terrace Walk, said coaches swing round onto this road and nearly hit pedestrians in the process. “Someone is going to get killed or at the very least a serious injury. Without the marshals it is only a matter of time,” he said. “I went to a meeting with the local road traffic organisation. They are very good at listening but then you just get ignored. “The marshals have been taken away and now it is an absolute free-for-all. Coaches come swinging round and miss my shop by inches. “I have had to yell at pedestrians to warn them about an oncoming coach. “One time I was cutting someone’s hair and a coach driver blared out his horn because of pedestrians and I could have cut the customer’s ear off. “I jumped because it was so loud and startling. “You get toddlers walking along here in their little hi-vis jackets, they are being put at risk. “The coaches block the bits of the road where wheelchair users can cross too. Some of the coaches that come here are huge. “The council are only focused on the next four-year term and not about the best, long-term interests of Bath. “The marshals weren’t perfect but they made the place safer and they are needed right now.” Paul Brookes, who runs the Ale House pub just off Bog Island, is also very worried about not having marshals in place. “There were a few incidents where tourists had some near misses,” he said. “They have a tendency to look round at the city and walk into the road. There is an element of danger there for sure. “When it is hot, sometimes the marshals led elderly people across the road as they felt faint. It is nice for someone to get that greeting when they come here. “There is in-fighting from coach drivers as they move in and out of this place. I have heard of scuffles taking place between them. “You lose that safety if marshals are not here.” Georgia Barton, manager of Demuths Cookery School in Terrace Walk, concurred with her neighbours. “I second what Mr Pace says. It is only a matter of time. It can be an absolute nightmare,” she said. “The way the coaches swing round, so close to the shops and the pavement, it is so dangerous. Some drivers are better at it than others.” She added: “The marshals need to come back. The council have got their priorities wrong.” A B&NES spokeswoman said: “While the marshall service is not a statutory requirement, the council can now confirm that the stewards will return on April 29, 2019. “Terrace Walk is a public highway and motorists have a legal obligation to adhere to the Highway Code at all times for the protection of other road users and pedestrians. “The enforcement of the parking restrictions in Terrace Walk continues to be undertaken by the council’s Civil Enforcement Officers who visit the area regularly as part of a daily patrol.”