North Road closure benefits no one

I refer to Cllr Joanna Wright’s recent statement on why North Road should be closed for the benefit of cyclists.

There are a number of points that she has got wrong.

“51 per cent of North Road Residents voted to close the road.”

51 per cent of North Road residents voted to keep the road open and I believe more would have voted to keep it open had they not been misinformed that they could exit via the busgate.

“North Road has the least amount of traffic on it.”

I wonder if she has taken into account King Edward’s School (800 pupils), the Golf Club (750 members) and the only other entrance to the University which is on North Road with parking for 650 cars (97 per cent occupancy).

In the University Masterplan for Transport 2021 Table 5 (p16) it was recorded that in one day the number of entries and exits to the West entrance of the University via North Road was 2,477.

“It would give a safe route to the University, Schools, Wessex Water, Bath Clinic etc.”

The upper end of North Road narrows to 6.299 metres. If this part of the road becomes the exit and entrance route for cars then there would be no room left for the ‘thousands of cyclists’ to go either way.

From her purporting that North Road has the least number of accidents, it would become a dangerous blackspot for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

On Table 1 (p.12) of the Transport Masterplan by the University 2021 the breakdown by percentage of different modes of travel to the University was as follows: Bus, 55.2 per cent;

Cars, 29.5 per cent; Car passes, 4.6 per cent; Walk, 7.1 per cent; Cycle, 2.8 per cent; Motorcycle, 0.8 per cent.

Cllr Wright suggests the closure of North Road would result in a win win for health, wellbeing and the planet?

Cyclists would be able to get three quarters of the way up North Road (with an average pitch of 7.1 per cent rising to 13 per cent) only to get stuck where the road narrows and two way vehicles enter and exit.

Residents on the upper part of North Road would have an increase in pollution due to the vast amount

of traffic passing their doors.

Bathwick Hill and Cleveland Walk would bear the brunt of the traffic unable to enter from the lower end of the road and therefore pollution and petrol consumption would increase.

I would suggest that this is lose lose for everyone!

Stella Wain-heapy North Road Resident – upper end