"Any scheme needs to specify how car drivers will switch to walking, cycling and buses" Lesley Bees, Labour candidate for Lambridge
This letter from Lesley Bees, Labour candidate for Lambridge, was published in the Chronicle on 20th December 2018
It would be wonderful if Bath were finally to benefit from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Mayor’s ideas for a rapid transit system from Bristol to Bath (Chronicle, 29thNovember). Unfortunately, the Conservative mayor’s futuristic plan will be of no use to the transport upheaval that will result from the proposed Clean Air Zone. That scheme needs to specify how car drivers will switch to walking, cycling and buses; especially on the relatively neglected east side of Bath; and it needs to be ready for 2021 – not the 20-year timescale in the WECA plan.
While fully supporting a zone that will reduce the appalling health risks from vehicle emissions, I fear that improvement will be lessened and many poorer people penalized without some cast iron guarantees of money for buses, from the government and from the WECA mayor’s budget; as he not BANES now has control of bus contracts.
I, and Labour Party colleagues, will be writing to the WECA Mayor demanding to know what extra bus services he will seek to introduce to make the Clean Air Zone work for everyone, not just those that can afford emission-compliant vehicles. Residents of Lambridge ward and adjacent areas who would like to join in this letter-writing campaign can contact me on lambridge@bathlabour.org.uk for more information. Or engage with us on our Facebook page – Lambridgematters.
Kind regards
Lesley Bees
Bath Labour Party, Lambridge Ward