Following their meeting earlier today to discuss the future of Social Distancing Schemes including Bradford on Avon’s, Wiltshire Council have released the following statement:
Responding to the decision, Mayor of Bradford on Avon, Cllr Sarah Gibson, said:
“The decision of WC Cabinet today, advised by Public Health Wiltshire, is to remove social distancing schemes county wide. They consider that there is no longer a requirement for road schemes such as ours. The temporary traffic order expires in August and with no continued requirement to social distance it has no legal basis to be extended.
I appreciate that for some this is a relief but for others a disappointment. As the cabinet member for Transport makes clear in his statement there is no option for a temporary scheme to be directly converted into a permanent scheme. He clearly states that any request for a permanent scheme would have to be considered once the temporary scheme has been removed.
Attempts to maintain the temporary scheme for longer distract from the progress towards a permanent traffic solution to improve pedestrian safety and air quality and which needs to have a reduction in through traffic at its heart, which the current system does not. Use of the data collected this year, with additional modelling and a fully engaged consultation leading to a comprehensive design is the best way to achieve a long term solution”
Chair of the Town Council’s Sustainable Travel Committee, Cllr Tim Trimble, added:
“We now need to concentrate our efforts on a durable solution to our decades old traffic problems and I look forward to working closely with Wiltshire Council to model a number of possible scenarios based on the data collected before, during and after the Social Distancing scheme.
This will allow an informed and wide ranging public consultation later in the autumn. The Town Council will also be pursuing a variety of other measures to improve sustainable travel options, including the possibility of a new pedestrian bridge, more frequent bus services, more electric vehicle charge points and possibly a shared use ECar and EBike club. We also plan to look at extending 20mph limits over more routes in and around the town.”
On Wednesday 21st July at 7pm, the Town Council will be holding an Extraordinary Full Council Meeting in St Margaret’s Hall to discuss the above. The agenda can be viewed HERE
For those who are unable to attend in person, we will be live streaming this meeting via You Tube from 7pm via the following link:
https://youtu.be/bMscRe8sjHg
To find out more information about the Social Distancing Scheme or read previous related articles, visit https://bradfordonavontowncouncil.gov.uk/covid-19-social-distancing-traffic-scheme-update/