Improving the Pedestrian Experience
Introduction
Julian Road and its extension Crescent Lane, join at the apex of the triangle known as St Andrew's Green to form an historical axis that uniquely connects a community of several of Bath's Georgian residential streets, squares and crescents. In addition the area contains social housing, two shopping areas, a primary school and three churches. The streetscape and Public Realm amenity of this axis, loosely referred to as "Julian Road", is critically important in preserving the connectivity and cohesion of this diverse community.
Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) recognises that Julian Road is one of the most dangerous roads in the city of Bath. Between 1998-2005 B&NES sources confirm that there have been 18 accidents (one fatal and one serious). In recent years the road has become part of an unofficial ring road and carries high volumes of traffic especially during the rush hour periods. Transport 2000 has described it as the least satisfactory road in the South West.
Traditional engineering solutions have failed to moderate traffic speeds or provide local school children with safe routes to school. Without any pedestrian facilities, the road is difficult and dangerous to cross and consequently divides the community, effectively disconnecting the shops and residences north of Julian Road (such as St James's Square) with those to the south (such as The Royal Crescent) and the other historic zones of Bath, the UK's only World Heritage City.
The failed engineering solutions have left their mark and have impacted negatively on the Public Realm and now present a morass of ugly road signs, sections of unhelpful elevated pavements and a road layout and pavement alignment that discourages rather then encourages sensible driving behaviour. A solution to this problem emerged from a study commissioned by B&NES from Hamilton-Baillie Associates, a Bristol based transport, traffic and urban design consultancy practice. This recommended a modification of the road architecture and layout so as to convert the roadway into a "shared space"; and to use psychological design techniques to positively affect traffic behaviour. For further detail see Appendix 1 below.
Parkside Community Safety Action Group (PCSAG), a community group concerned with safety related issues affecting the wider area, (covers approx. 1200 local adult stakeholders) agreed to campaign for the adoption of the "shared space" solution for Julian Road. A petition was raised and signatures, representing active support from over 60% of the homes in the area, were collected. During 2004 the B&NES Overview and Scrutiny Panel considered the scheme as part of its Public Realm review and strongly recommended its adoption.
In 2006 B&NES Transport and Highways department agreed to design and implement a first phase and to adopt some of the shared space ideas contained in the Hamilton-Baillie report. They have modified the roadway layout and the associated pavement areas in a small part of the roadway and this work was completed in July 2006.
Click on this link to see a copy of the full design for phase 1
Although street sign clutter has been reduced, Phase 1 still requires some additional modifications to achieve the desired effect on traffic speeds and to meet B&NES's own Streetscape Manual standards for design and materials. Improvements to Phase 1 are proposed by the campaign to be implemented in conjunction with a second Phase of the project focusing on the junction of Crescent Lane and Marlborough Buildings which has been agreed in principle for design and implementation over the next three years.
