Express lanes for us locals

Emerging from a meeting at the Pump Room this week, we becameembroiled in the maelstrom that is peak holiday period Bath.

From the inexorable marching of endless columns of foreignlanguage students to the dawdling knots of lost Japanese tourists,not to mention mum, dad, the kids and gran all arguing as to whichgets priority, the Roman Baths or New Look, an impenetrable barrieris set up, thwarting those good citizens who simply want to go abouttheir everyday business.

Ralph OSWICK Now the council has come up with a scheme thatshould alleviate this problem. On a recent junket at the OlympicPark, city representatives were proudly shown the plans for thespecial traffic lanes that are to be created throughout London sothat minibuses carrying athletes and officials can be rushed fromsite to site. Ar med with this infor mation, the city officersreturned to Bath and immediately set about adapting the system tosuit the particular problems here.

And so the Bath Residents Express Walkway System (BREWS) has comeabout.

Any day now, council workmen will start painting lines on thepavements between which only bona fide Bathonians will be able towalk.

You simply swipe your resident's Discovery Card at the start ofyour walk and off you stride at a steady pace, unimpeded by theseething tourist throng around you.

The routes will be patrolled by Walkway Wardens and non-residents can expect heavy fines for impinging on "our" pathways.Rather like the existing bus gate, the fines for transgressing therules will prove to be an important source of income for the city.

Of course, the scheme already has its detractors. Members of theBath Whingeing Society have been quick to point out that the lanesare too narrow and that if two portly pedestrians come fromdifferent directions on a busy section gridlock could occur.

Some say that simply issuing residents with cattle prods would bejust as effective and far cheaper.

I for one can't wait to try the new system out.