Fresh proposals to reinstate trams to the city of Bath have been drawn up, with a petition calling for a feasibility study launched at the weekend.
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Local engineer Dave Andrews told TP Weekly News that Bath “is ruined by traffic” and added that the volume of cars and lorries using the city’s Cleveland Bridge represents “a massive problem”.
Publication of the new campaign came as the West of England Combined Authority – which covers Bath – announced that Dan Norris has been elected its new mayor.
Dave Andrews writes that Bath could be connected by tram to nearby Bristol, but cautions against introducing a bus based service which he says would not encourage as many people to switch away from driving.
Atkins carried out a feasibility study into bringing trams to Bath in 2018 and last spring Bath & North East Somerset Council noted that trams could be considered on four routes ‘to meet future growth and transport needs of the city’. Trams last ran in Bath in 1939.
In a second petition also launched at the weekend, Dave Andrews calls for the construction of a new bypass to take traffic from the M4 and Chippenham directly to the A36 to direct vehicles away from Cleveland Bridge.
One local political figure contacted by TP Weekly News said it is too early to make a call on whether trams would be right for Bath, but said he was “sympathetic” to the proposal. “Over the coming years we should definitely look at the possibility of light rail,” he said.
In a statement, the West of England Combined Authority said it is looking to identify potential options for mass transit, adding that a variety of transport options are currently being assessed to understand which technologies might work best for the region. It also said that any potential solutions would have to be high capacity and fully segregated to deliver a high speed service.
To add your name to the petition to bring trams back to Bath, click here.
(Photograph: 1000 Words - Shutterstock)
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