We need to make walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choice for a lot more of our journeys. Currently, over a third of car trips across Bath and North East Somerset are less than 5km.
The importance of walking, wheeling, and cycling, or ‘active travel’ as an affordable and accessible mode of transport has become increasingly apparent over recent years. Active travel includes the following types of travel:
- adapted cycles
- cycles
- pushchairs
- e-cycles
- wheel chairs
- e-cargo bikes
- walking
- mobility scooters
- push scooters
- horse riding
The objectives of our Active Travel Masterplan are set out below. Please expand the sections to find out more about each objective.
Our Active Travel Masterplan responds to the Climate Emergency by::
- reducing carbon emissions from transport across Bath and North East Somerset by reducing the number of motorised journeys made across the district, particulary for short journeys
- improving physical connectivity by identifying the active travel connections needed to link the places people live to where they work and access key facilities, including public transport for onward travel
Our Active Travel Masterplan enhances safety and accessibility by:
- creating a holistic network of interconnected walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure that prioritises the safety of all users, regardless of age or ability
- improving the safety and the perceived safety of those travelling on foot, on cycles, and other non-motorised modes of transport through improved infrastructure design and public education
Our Active Travel Masterplan promotes healthy lifestyles and wellbeing by:
- enabling greater physical activity by making active travel the most convenient, safe, and enjoyable choice for short daily trips leading to healthier, happier communities
- ensuring the provision of active travel options helps address:
- physical and mental health and wellbeing
- obesity rates
- respiratory illness
Our Active Travel Masterplan strengthens social equity and inclusivity by:
- ensuring that active travel is accessible to all, regardless of income, age, gender, or physical ability
- addressing historical disparities and enhancing social cohesion by investing in active travel infrastructure for underpriviliged and marginalised communities
Our Active Travel Masterplan stimulates economic growth by:
- making our high streets more attractive to those walking, wheeling, or cycling
- promoting economic growth through delivery of an active travel network that:
- attracts tourism
- enhances local businesses
- generates employment opportunities within the community
What we are consulting on
Our Active Travel Plan identifies where the improvements and measures are needed to enable those people who can to make the change in their travel habits, keeping the roads clearer and improving journeys for people who have no other option than to drive. It will also establish how we can ensure that more of our roads and public spaces are able to be used by those using active travel modes.
By implementing infrastructure improvements and behaviour change campaigns, the measures identified in our Active Travel Masterplan will improve the safety, accessibility, and attractiveness of active travel options, while contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions from vehicular transport and the health and wellbeing of residents through supporting them to change their travel habits.
We would like your views on the toolkit of measures to promote and improve active travel modes of transport and the routes we have identified in our plan.
Toolkit of measures
Expand the sections below to find out more about the toolkit of measures we are proposing to use.
Our toolkit of measures for Active Travel facilities includes::
- children safe streets
- healthy streets
- elderly and active travel
- cycle routes, including:
- quick routes
- quiet routes
- community connection
- urban routes
- inter urban active travel routes
- cycle parking/cycle hubs (urban and rural)
- secure cycle parking at school
- public bike repair stations
- e-bikes
- cycle hire and e-bike hire
- e-cargo bikes
- accessfor all
- disabled access
- disabled cyclists
- active travel and tourism in Bath and North East Somerset
Our toolkit for connectivity includes::
- multi-modal connectivity
- pedestrian and cycle links to public transport
- bikes on buses
Our toolkit for infrastructure includes:
- reallocation of road space, rebalancing our streets and places for active travel
- road safety and traffic calming measures
- 20mph zones
- school streets
- safe routes to school
- maintenance
- wayfinding and signage
Our toolkit for behaviour change and education includes:
- branding of walking and cycling network
- social prescriptions, including walking, wheeling, and cycling
- bikeability and adult cycle training
- campaigns to promote walking and cycling
Routes and infrastructure
The map below shows the routes and infrastructure across Bath and North East Somerset that we are planning to use our toolkit of measures on.
Expand the sections below to find out more.
The existing active travel infrastructure we have identified includes:
- National Cycle Network
- Norton Radstock greenway
- Five Arches greenway
- Bristol to Bath corridor
- Avon cycleway
- Two Tunnels circuit
- Bathscape walking route
- footpaths on the Public Rights of Way (PRoW) network
- bridleways, byways, and restricted bridleways on the PRoW network
- Local Plan growth areas
- 20mph zones
These include:
- Somer Valley Links
- West of England Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan 2020-2036
- Liveable Neighbourhoods
This includes:
- methodology for developing the network
- walking and wheeling routes
- a walking and wheeling tool box
- cycle routes
- future cycle networks
This includes improvements in:
- Bath
- Radstock
- Keynsham
This includes:
- improvements at Keynsham rail station
- better marketing of sustainable travel choices at Bath rail and bus stations
- mobility hubs
Read the full Active Travel Masterplan to understand the full range of measures and where we propose to apply them.
Who we are consulting with
We want to hear from anyone who has an interest in this area, whether you travel by walking, wheeling, or cycling or not. We want to understand what the barriers are to people adopting active travel methods, and whether there are any measures or infrastructure that you think we have missed.
Respond to the consultation
Come to a consultation event
We will be holding 4 consultation events where we will be able to answer any questions you may have about our proposals. The table below shows the details of the events.
| Date and time | Location |
|---|---|
| Thursday 18 July, 3pm to 7pm | Council Chamber, The Hollies, High Street, Midsomer Norton, BA3 2DP |
| Monday 22 July, 3pm to 7pm | Keynsham Community Space, 5 Temple St, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 1HA |
| Tuesday 23 July, 3pm to 7pm | Brunswick Room, Guildhall, High St, Bath BA1 5AW |
| Tuesday 30 July, 3pm to 7pm | Whitchurch United Reform Church, 24 Bristol Rd, Bristol BS14 0PQ |
What happens next
We will consider all of the responses we receive and publish a consultation feedback report on this web page.
We will adopt the plan in winter 2024 and use it to guide how we make decisions around Active Travel.