NE Bath will need more RPZs for the CAZ

Slight apologies for a bit of a flurry of posts this week.  This is a hot period if you are a car user, ending on 26th November when the Council consultation finishes. My google alerts are picking a lot of stuff from ‘Somerset Live’ particularly, the Chronicle has a pageful of letters and NextDoor Camden has a string of 60 comments too.  I’d say about 60% is valid and the rest is initial reaction without taking a thorough look at the proposal.

I’ve been very much looking at what life will be like for Camden residents.  On the day the CAZ starts in two years, despite all drivers of chargeable cars being exposed to information and signage at many points from as far as the M4 itself a proportion will carry on regardless, either because they think their “car is ‘green’ and must be compliant”, are confused by the whole thing, miss the start date, or believe they can bust the CAZ.

My main concern is that there will be stream of drivers coming from the NE, E and SE, of Bath and simply falling into the trap of reaching the zone boundary and meeting their ‘moment of truth’ there, whether that is on London Road or Camden Road, and deciding to turn back or divert away.  This will be an emotional event for anybody and the driving could become reckless as the frustration increases.  For the Camden boundary their obvious next try is rat-run through Fairfield Park and Richmond, and probably getting thwarted at the bottom of Richmond Road, next to St Stephen’s church.  Their next best option is to return to the western section of Charlcombe Lane and then go out to Lansdown Lane to Weston.  All this is pretty abortive and uses tiny roads, close to, or past, schools.

The rational, regular driver will probably only experience this moment of truth once or twice before doing something else, whether that is making a concerted challenge to the whole CAZ and refusing to pay (ref Dorchester St. Bus Gate, I understand, from several years ago) or, adapting their driving and parking habits in some way.  As for parking they may seek to park their car as near to the CAZ boundary and then walk in.

So after the initial flurry and fury, there will be a small persistent traffic problem but also this major new requirement for parking both from drivers entering Bath and local residents in the CAZ deciding to park their chargeable cars habitually outside the CAZ.  We will need a bigger RPZ Zone 15 and probably another further out from there.  and judging by current performance these will be needed 24*7.

As Bath is such a great place to visit, the many occasional or first time drivers to Bath, will run up against the same problems, and this will constitute a continual issue for those living and parking in and around Camden and the London Road.  A well publicised new eastern P&R might sort this out to some extent.  I understand this is being looked at.

The Council has just arranged the next batch of surgeries if your are interested in seeing them.  See here.

Finally, the project team wants us to be involved in setting up a Residents Working Group to meet w/c 5/11.  If you are interested then please send me a comment on this post.

Jeremy