Consultation
The Temporary Social Distancing Scheme has certainly raised a range of opinions about traffic in Bradford on Avon and clearly demonstrated that we need a comprehensive solution to the challenges we face – these challenges include traffic volume and speed, pollution and pedestrian safety.
The Town Council has committed to deliver a meaningful public engagement on the traffic issues that have dogged the town for decades. Due to the depth and complexity of the issues, the council is pursuing a phased approach with the first phase concerned with data and evidence collection. This phase will be based around a questionnaire style leaflet to be delivered to every resident and business in late November alongside online information and two public ‘drop in’ sessions.
To assist with this the council has gone to the market for a partner to develop the consultation process, to include producing the leaflet for every residential and business address, developing a consultation portal, developing the questions and facilitating the two public ‘drop in’ sessions (provisional dates for these are 27th Nov and 4th Dec 21)
The consultant will subsequently produce a report based on the date and evidence, which will be presented to Wiltshire Council, the highways authority, to analyse. Proposals from the consultants are due to be returned by 8th October 21. The decision as regards the award of the work will be taken at the forthcoming Resources Meeting on 19th October.
The Town Mayor and Wiltshire Councillor, Sarah Gibson and Sustainable Travel Chair and Wiltshire Councillor, Tim Trimble have been in discussion with Councillor Mark McClelland (Cabinet Member for Transport) and Wiltshire Council highways officers who have confirmed their support to the process, including provision of officer time to provide the relevant data.
Depending on Wiltshire Council’s response to the report from the first phase, it is anticipated subsequent phases in 2022 would enable the town to consider any option/s for addressing the issue that Wiltshire Council is able to propose.