Bath and North East Somerset Council have revealed that they are planning to conduct a feasibility study into whether a tram system could help to solve some of the traffic congestion problems being experienced in the historic city. The idea of returning trams to Bath is nothing new with discussions seeming to have gone on for well over 10 years but this latest development apparently comes in response to public enthusiasm.
This study would be short and preliminary – meaning that regardless of the results if there was any suggestion trams would be the answer it would be many years before anything would ever be done about it. The decision to complete this study comes as a result of suggestions from residents in the city asking for a review.
There is severe congestion in Bath and solving this problem is a priority for the council as part of their Transport Strategy although trams are not currently part of this policy.
Cllr Anthony Clarke, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “The need to improve transport and tackle congestion is one of the biggest issues we face in Bath, and we are always keen to look at ideas and solutions that could form part of our wider transport strategy in the years ahead. The idea of introducing some sort of a light-rail system in Bath has clearly caught the imagination of a number of people in the city and we feel this idea warrants further investigation. We have therefore agreed to help fund a short preliminary study looking at the feasibility of some form of light-rail system in Bath. It’s important to stress that this is a very high-level and early-stage study looking at general issues and opportunities of a tram system, but it is an important first step towards looking at this idea more seriously.”
Bath had proposals back in the early 1990s when several smaller cities including Cambridge had proposals, some of which progressed as far as track layout. Few came to fruition, unfortunately, unlike our neighbours south of the Channel who have built tram systems in most cities and in smaller towns, too, during the same period. Here in the UK, with a few notable exceptions, it’s mostly all talk and no action.