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Bath and North East Somerset Council says construction will begin this autumn on a contraflow cycle lane through Royal Victoria Park, alongside resurfacing and new crossings. The £2.35m scheme has drawn substantial local opposition: 84% of 864 consultation respondents opposed it, while supporters say it could offer a protected route between Upper Weston and the city centre. The council’s timetable is confirmed, but the source does not give a specific start date or construction duration.
Bath and North East Somerset Council says work will begin this autumn on a contraflow cycle lane through Royal Victoria Park, a £2.35 million project intended to connect Upper Weston with the city centre. The plan is proceeding despite opposition from many consultation respondents, who say a cycle route already crosses the park and question what the new lane will solve.
The project will place a cycle lane beside the western and southern sides of the park’s one-way ring road, allowing cyclists to travel against the direction of motor traffic. The council’s announced works also include resurfacing and new pedestrian crossing points. The scheme forms part of Bath’s Walking, Wheeling, and Cycling Links programme.
The council says the route is intended to address concerns about cyclists using the existing diagonal shared pedestrian and cycle path, where it says riding can be dangerous for other park users. Revised plans following a public consultation added crossings, promised resurfacing of paths on both sides of the road and introduced tulip-shaped wand kerbs to separate the cycle lane from traffic. The earlier design had shown a painted lane. The council also said it would install eco-sensitive heritage lighting at regular intervals.
Opposition was recorded in the consultation: 84% of 864 respondents said they opposed the scheme, according to the source report. That figure reflects respondents to the council’s consultation; the source does not establish that they represent all Bath residents or park users. Concerns raised included whether the new route is needed, how safe it will feel after dark, and the prospect of cyclists and pedestrians crossing or moving close to the road.
A Disputed Route Through the Park
The decision matters because the project will change how people cycle and walk around a heavily used public park, while committing £2.35 million to new infrastructure that many consultation respondents opposed. Its stated aim is to provide a safer connection between Upper Weston and the city centre; whether it does so will depend on how the lane, crossings and separation from traffic work in practice.
The dispute is not simply over whether cycling infrastructure is desirable. Supporters say a protected route could help children, older people and less confident riders make trips into town. Critics question the need for a second route through the park and say the secluded setting may still feel unsafe, particularly at night. The different views point to competing concerns about access, perceived safety and shared use of the park.
For park users, the practical effects will include a new route beside a road with a 10mph speed limit and traffic-calming chicanes, plus new crossings and resurfaced paths. The source material does not provide a final construction schedule, detailed crossing locations or an evaluation plan, so the scale and timing of disruption—and how the council will judge the scheme’s results—remain unknown.
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How the Design Changed
Royal Victoria Park is one of Bath’s largest public green spaces. Its ring road runs in a clockwise one-way loop, and a shared pedestrian and cycle path already crosses the park diagonally. Under the proposed arrangement, cyclists travelling out of the city are expected to use the road’s one-way route, while the new contraflow lane will let cyclists travel in the opposite direction along part of the ring road.
The council’s original proposals prompted criticism from residents and the local Green Party over the park’s isolated and unlit setting and the safety of women and children cycling after dark. After public consultation, the council revised the design to include crossings, resurfacing, physical separation using wand kerbs and regular lighting described as sensitive to the park’s heritage and environment.
Those changes did not remove the disagreement. Green councillor Saskia Heijltjes said the party could not support the plans, arguing that even with additional lighting, a secluded, quiet route through a park can feel socially unsafe. Other residents have focused on the existing shared path and concerns about cycling speeds. The source report does not provide further detail on the council’s evidence for the design or its responses to each objection.
“I can’t really understand what problem this is solving. “What’s the point?””
— A local cyclist responding to the council consultation
Questions Before Work Begins
The council has announced an autumn start but the source material gives no exact date, construction duration or details of how access through the park will be managed while work is under way. It also does not specify the final locations of crossings or the full operating arrangements for the new lane.
It remains unclear what evidence the council used to conclude that the new route will address dangerous cycling on the shared path, or how it will measure any change in safety. The source also does not explain how the design will address residents’ concerns about the route’s perceived safety after dark, including whether the planned lighting will meet those concerns.
Consultation opposition is a confirmed result among the 864 respondents, not proof of the view held by every park user or Bath resident. The material does not describe how respondents were recruited or provide a breakdown of their reasons beyond noting that many said cyclists could already travel through the park.
Autumn Construction and Follow-Up
The next confirmed step is the start of construction in autumn, alongside resurfacing and installation of new crossing points. The council has also said the finished scheme will include wand-kerb separation and regular eco-sensitive heritage lighting. No more specific timetable is available in the source material.
As work proceeds, residents and park users will be watching for information about access, crossing arrangements and the installation of lighting and physical separation. The council has not set out in the supplied material a monitoring schedule or promised a review after the lane opens. Whether it later publishes safety or usage findings is not confirmed.
Key Questions
Where will the new cycle lane run?
It is planned alongside the western and southern sides of Royal Victoria Park’s one-way ring road, allowing cyclists to travel against motor traffic on that section.
Why does the council say the lane is needed?
The council says the project is intended to address concerns about cyclists riding on the existing diagonal shared path and to provide a safer, more welcoming route between Upper Weston and the city centre.
How much opposition did the consultation record?
According to the source report, 84% of 864 consultation respondents opposed the scheme. That is the result among respondents, not a measure of the views of all Bath residents.
What changes were added after consultation?
The revised plans added pedestrian crossings, promised resurfacing of paths on both sides of the road, and included tulip-shaped wand kerbs to separate the lane from traffic. The council also said it would install regular eco-sensitive heritage lighting.
When will construction start?
The council announced that work is due to begin in autumn. The source material does not provide a specific date or the expected duration of construction.
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