Rat run fear as works close roads
Cabbie voices concern over jams and pollution during months of disruption
A taxi driver claims a road closure in Bath lasting several months will lead to rat runs springing up and will turn Queen Square into a ‘car park’.
Bath resident Paul Roles says the work to install two sets of traffic lights and improve pedestrian and cycle safety at Queen Square will lead to extra traffic and unexpected consequences.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has said the closures will help to regulate flows of traffic into Gay Street as the works take place, starting next week.
The council said every effort was being made to keep disruption to a minimum.
But Mr Roles and fellow taxi driver John Law claim plans have not been well thought-out and will push traffic to neighbourhoods with less traffic.
“I am all for the environment. There are issues we have to deal with and I understand that. But I just think there has been no planning behind this,” said Mr Roles.
“This is going on for many months. At the moment the kids are on holiday, so it is not as busy, but during rush hour and when the kids are back from holiday it will be manic.
“Queen Square will turn into a car park. It will lead to more rat runs in the city, too.
“They will go up George Street, Charlotte Street and other areas to get around this. This will clog up residential areas. Traffic-free neighbourhoods will become traffic neighbourhoods. I am not sure what the council can do though, to be honest. I think they could have thought more about the consequences, rather than just going ahead and doing it, perhaps.”
Mr Law, 64, from Lacock, said the roadworks would lead to more pollution in the city centre, not less.
“It is a stupid idea,” he said. “It has not been well planned. It will turn Victoria Park into a race track if people try to cut through there.
“It is ridiculous. It is a main road. I think the council is approaching this from the wrong angle.
“Instead of helping traffic get through the city as quickly as possible, like through the outskirts, they do this.
“This will cause more traffic and pollution in the city centre. They complain about air pollution but then do this.
“What they are doing in Queen Square will only exacerbate the problem throughout the city.
“Queen Square used to be twoway when I learned to drive.
“Bath is not a city for cycling. The roads are too narrow and it is too hilly.
“You can get by with it in your 20s and 30s, but less so in your 50s and 60s.
“No one wants cleaner air more than me. I have emphysema (chronic lung disease). But you are never going to make Bath trafficfree.
“You should make sure traffic gets through the city as quickly as possible. That is the main problem.”
The council says the roadworks include widening the pavements between the junctions and installing roadside cabinets for the lights and pedestrian crossings when the clean air zone begins on November 4, subject to receiving Government funding.
Traffic that would normally travel along this section of road will be diverted along Monmouth Street to turn right at Charlotte Street.
There will be no access to footways and parking on the south and west sides of the square during the works, and temporary footpaths will be created for pedestrians.
Bath’s CAZ will charge all higher emission vehicles, except private cars, to drive in the zone from the end of the year.
The council said the initiative would help to urgently reduce harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution at all hot spots in the city by 2021 at the latest, both inside and outside the zone.
A council spokeswoman said: “The council is advising residents and local businesses to allow extra time if they’re driving through Queen Square over the next few months.
“Every effort will be made to keep disruption to a minimum.”
Previously, councillor Sarah Warren, cabinet member for climate emergency and neighbourhood services, said: “Regulating traffic flows through Queen Square on a temporary basis is the only way we can reduce air pollution to acceptable levels in the timeframe set for us by the Government.
“Without this initiative, the council would have to charge all higher emission private cars to travel in Bath’s clean air zone, which we know would hit local businesses and lower-income and disadvantaged families the hardest.
“The improvement in air quality that will be brought by the CAZ, not just in the zone but across the whole city, is good news for all those suffering from lung and heart problems,particularly asthma.
“I’d like to stress, however, that the CAZ is only the start of our work to tackle air pollution.”
❝ There are issues we have to deal with and I understand that. But I just think there has been no planning behind this Paul Roles