Motorists will face new restrictions driving around the centre of Bath after councillors voted in favour of installing the city's second bus gate.
Members of Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet met last night to discuss a proposal for an 18-month trial to ban all vehicles other than buses and taxis from using the eastbound side of Dorchester Street.
The stretch between St James Parade and the railway station will become a bus lane, enforced by CCTV cameras and fines, between 10am and 6pm.
The initial report stated it would only be until 4pm, but it has now emerged that this was a typing error and it will actually run for an extra two hours.
The Liberal Democrat cabinet said it was designed to ease congestion in the city centre and make the area safer for pedestrians.
Opposition councillors Brian Webber (Con, Abbey) and Tim Warren (Con, Mendip) both voiced concerns about the plans, particularly about whether it would make traffic problems worse rather than better.
Mr Webber said: "All in all, the proposed closure seems to be the wrong solution to an overstated problem."
While Mr Warren added: "Why? What is the point? This scheme has been extremely poorly thought through and should go back to the drawing board."
However, Councillor Roger Symonds, the cabinet member for transport, defended the scheme and said he believed it was the right thing to do.
He said: "It is to reduce pollution and congestion and we do have our priorities of putting people first. People who walk, people who ride bicycles, people in wheelchairs and people on public transport, ahead of people in cars."
In response to questions from Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib Dem, Widcombe) about how the new bus gate would impact on traffic going through Widcombe, he said this would not mean any delay for the Rossiter Road scheme, which is currently in the design phase.
Construction on that scheme is expected to start later this year and will be completed by 2014/15.
Mr Symonds also said the council would be monitoring the bus gate's knock-on effect for the amount of cars diverted along Widcombe Parade, but could not make any promises about what would happen at the end of the 18-month trial.
No date has yet been announced for when the new bus gate will come into action.
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