The bulk of the money in BANES active travel proposals is being directed at expensive cycling infrastructure. This come on top of a considerable emphasis on bicycles in most other transport plans, visions and proposals. This emphasis seems to be at the expense of investment in public transport and in particularly investment in provision for walkers.
It is hard not to see this as, at least in part, as a consequence of there being a very well organised cycling lobby with close links to BANES council.
We have seen a steady decline in the maintenance of city pavements which is both dangerous and unsightly. Where is the plan to address with the sort of funding being proposed for cycling routes?
We had a well research and widely consulted plan for improving the city centre, it was called the Public Realm and Movement Strategy and had pedestrians at its heart. It was not implemented, apparently because of a lack of funding. Where is the plan to update it and implement it or the commitment to produce and implement a public realm and movement plan of similar quality?
City centre residents complain about having to dodge cyclists, skateboarders and now electric scooters illegally using pavements and so called “pedestrianised” areas. Where are the plans to improve the enforcement of rules?
There are a number of dangerous and well used road crossing points in the city centre. Where are the plans to invest in properly designed crossing controls in these places?
Trade waste blocks pavements forcing pedestrians into roads. Where are the plans to address the storage of trade waste to avoid this?
Successive BANES administrations have talked about creating cafe culture in the city centre but where is the properly funded research into how to strike the right balance between this and the inevitable impact on pedestrians?