We aim to provide more travel choices for everyone. As part of our Corporate Strategy, we want to make walking, wheeling, and cycling safer, more convenient and accessible, while helping to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
The four routes will add more than 6.2km of new cycling routes, as well as new and upgraded crossings and footways for walking and wheeling. This will increase Bath’s cycling network by more than 10%, provide walking and wheeling improvements, increase connectivity across Bath, and result in around 193 on-street car parking places being lost in total across the areas impacted.
Bath Walking, Wheeling, and Cycling Links routes
The scheme will link into:
- the Bath city centre Sustainable Transport Corridor
- the A4 Bath to Bristol project
- our Liveable Neighbourhoods programme in several locations
- the National Cycle Network (NCN)
Two of the routes were identified in the West of England Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and the emerging Active Travel Masterplan.
These changes come with important choices about how we share road space. It’s not always possible to separate all types of transport, and with limited room, we need to rethink parking and prioritisation to find the best solutions. This is why we want to hear your views about how we can provide more travel choices and shape how our transport network works for everyone.
You can expand the sections below to find out more about what the scheme means for you.
Bath Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Links will improve the way people cycle in, through and out of the city centre from key spots in Bath. It will also make cycling safer, more accessible and convenient as a travel option.
The routes include proposals for numerous cycle lanes that will achieve these aims. This is through:
- segregated cycle lanes
- cycle lanes on quieter routes
- improvements to existing cycle lanes
- new crossings
The project will provide direct routes from key spots in and around the city centre to make walking and wheeling a more convenient and safer option. This includes creating distance from moving traffic, traffic calming and improving crossing points.
Our proposals aim to rebalance how road space is allocated, making active modes of travel safer and more convenient for users.
Reducing on-street car parking
To implement the scheme, it will be necessary to reduce the level of on-street parking in some areas. However, the details of the scheme are not yet finalised. We need your feedback to make the scheme the best that it can be and to understand how the changes will impact the community. We welcome feedback from everyone who lives on or uses the route.
The routes proposed which include a reduction in on-street car parking are Oldfield School to Newbridge Hill and Weston to Bath City Centre. Stakeholder feedback has indicated parking at Royal Victoria Park is not at full capacity.
The proposals indicate a reduction of approximately 193 on-street parking spaces and will also formalise parking arrangements at some points along the route.
Residents and businesses
Our proposals will encourage more people to use active modes of travel, either walking, cycling, wheeling or walking as part of a trip involving public transport. These modes of travel use limited road space more efficiently.
If more people can choose active modes of travel or use public transport, it will improve accessibility and air quality in the local area. We also anticipate that an increase in walking and cycling may improve footfall for local businesses and create a safer and more welcoming environment.
Why walking and cycling is important
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.
The benefits of active travel are extensive - from improving air quality to ensuring healthier places and people. By enabling more travel options, we can optimise road space for all.
Active Travel Masterplan
The Bath Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Links is part of our emerging Active Travel Masterplan, a comprehensive plan that sets out the existing and future network of active travel infrastructure. Consultation took place over the summer and aims to enable walking, cycling, and other forms of active travel, ensuring safer, healthier, and more accessible transportation options for everyone. It will support all types of journey including commuting, education, leisure, and tourism.
Feedback is currently being considered and an update is expected by the end of 2024. You can view the consultation page here. View the consultation page.