Why not just declare that Bath is closed?

The powers that be in Bath, be it council or MP, could save the taxpayers a mint by simply erecting signs on every entrance road to the city saying CLOSED.

There would be clean air aplenty, with no annoying people, outrageously arriving in motorised transport, who want to see the sights and shop or just enjoy the beauty of a heritage city or even frivolously meet friends.

The latest round of bonkers dogma-driven ideas, denying traffic access from one quarter of the city to another, and the disproportionately disruptive cycle lanes on the Upper Bristol Road, all allegedly for the sake of clean air, takes no account of the needs of real human beings.

To base a scheme for Bath on a city in Belgium is plain silly. I support the provision of cycle lanes but totally sympathise with Adam Leon’s fears (Bath Chronicle, January 20) that these will disproportionately upset the lives of the people who live next to them.

There has to be a balance between the need for clean air and the need to live!

Much as Sarah Warren would love us all to cycle or walk everywhere, the reality is, Bath, and its surrounding rural areas, like many other places, has an ageing population, many of whom can no longer cycle, or walk far. Even for younger people the hilly terrain is a tough challenge.

Use the bus? Fine, but I am not unique in living in a remote rural location, where I need to drive to the nearest village to catch a bus if I want to go to Bath. Parking within walking distance of the bus stop (for an arthritic pensioner) is an increasing problem.

On the other hand, if I head in the opposite direction from Bath, to Corsham, I can park for two hours free, at the moment, with good choice of shops. I can go to numerous places in Wiltshire where the parking is massively cheaper than Bath.

And it is Wiltshire which is bearing the brunt of Bath’s clean air zone with the heaviest vehicles being forced to pollute the Wiltshire air instead of Bath’s. That is merely creating a problem for someone else, not really solving anything.

I understand that some edicts regarding air pollution have been imposed by the Government rather than local politicians, but there has to be room for a measure of common sense and compromise so that the clean air is not at the expense of normal life; otherwise, what’s the point?

Jo Burnard

Bath