B&NES Conservatives are congratulating themselves on spending £916,000 on a brand-spanking new bus lane but North East Somerset Liberal Democrats say it’s going nowhere.

Cllr Nathan Hartley and future Parliamentary representative Gail Coleshill travel the A367 route regularly and have personal experience of the traffic build up to the Odd Down Roundabout which continues down the Wellsway and through Bear Flat.

Gail is dismayed at yet another example of a bus lane which appears to be a solution to traffic queues, ending up in exactly the same traffic queue as cars. She said:

“This bus lane goes nowhere. What is the point of such a short stretch when the buses will just end up on the Wellsway with everyone else?”

Councillor Nathan Hartley is shocked at the cost. He said:

“How can the Tories spend £916,000 on a half baked traffic scheme? They could have used the money to make Bath more cycle friendly – or spent it on school transport to get more cars off the road at peak times.”

Liberal Democrats want to see properly constructed linked transport schemes with bus lanes which carry buses separately all the way into the city. They also want to see more priority footways and cycle-ways in the towns and city to encourage people to leave their cars at home. Last week Gail visited the bus lane during its construction.

To watch a video of Gail's visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7-dBnoty30