SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is calling on Yate residents to say how easy they find it to get around town – and what could be done to sort out travel problems.
The council is being offered government funding to pay for improvements that could make it easier to walk, cycle, use a wheelchair or mobility scooter on local journeys.
‘Doing nothing is not an option’
It says that delays for drivers on the area’s roads are predicted to increase by almost 40% over the next 12 years – and “doing nothing is not an option”.
The council has launched a project called Getting About in Yate to find solutions. It is asking people to fill in a survey saying how they make local journeys, such as going to the shops or school, and the “barriers” preventing them from making them on foot or by bike.
The information people give will be used to help plan changes designed to “make it easier and more pleasant for people to walk, wheel or cycle”.
The money to pay for them will come from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements Fund, and the council said: “We are not allowed to use it for road repair; either we use it for active travel, or we give the money back.”
Cabinet member for transport and Yate North ward councillor Chris Willmore said: “This is a real opportunity to improve accessibility in Yate.
“Working together we want to make it easier, safer and more attractive for people to walk, wheel or cycle, especially for those local journeys like going to school or popping to the shops. We also have opportunity to better connect the train station to residents living in the north of Yate.
‘We want to hear from the people of Yate,’ says councillor
“We want to hear from the people of Yate because they know their local streets and roads better than we do.
“They will know where a dropped kerb or extra crossing is needed, or hedges need cutting back or there’s a bollard in the wrong place and so on.
“This funding is limited and can only be spent on supporting active and sustainable travel, so we need to prioritise the right improvements in the right places, and that’s where local people come in. We want to know where the barriers are stopping people going about their daily lives.
“It’s a really exciting chance to get some of the things we have all been moaning about for years sorted out. So as a Yate resident, I hope everyone will get involved, to steer how this money is used.”
The online survey also includes information about a proposed new cycle route linking Yate Railway Station to the north of the town.
Survey open until end of Wednesday
The survey is open until April 10 and can be found online at www.southglos.gov.uk/getting-about-in-yate.