New traffic arrangements are being introduced to keep Bath moving during the Christmas period.
Bath and North East Somerset Council, in liaison with local police, businesses and residents' groups, is also urging people to maximise their use of public transport and especially the city's park and ride services.
Every Thursday evening until Christmas, buses from Bath city centre will operate to each park and ride site for an extra hour – until 9.30pm.
Then from December 10 to 22, excluding Sundays, all three sites at Lansdown, Newbridge and Odd Down, will run buses an hour later every evening, with the last one leaving Bath city centre at 9.30pm. Sunday services will operate as normal.
During the Christmas Market, the Lansdown and Odd Down sites will be running around 15 extra journeys in both directions between 10am and 6pm on Saturdays, and an additional park and ride site will be available on the Saturdays at Bath Racecourse. Buses will run direct to and from the city centre from 9am to 9.30pm. Live updates will be displayed on message signs on the roads approaching Bath and posted on www.bathnes.gov.uk/park andride, with the signs also providing live traffic and car park information, including capacity and available spaces.
The council has put on hold all planned road works in Bath, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock town centres.
The first of two phases to improve streets in the city centre, particularly around the High Street, near the Guildhall, has been completed. Work stopped on November 16 and will not start again until January 7, to minimise disruption.
If traffic gets particularly heavy in the city centre, the council will ban right turns from Charlotte Street into Charlotte Street Car Park; prevent right turns into North Parade, and adjust traffic light timings.
In addition, access restrictions in Avon Street will be lifted throughout the festive period, and there will be extra parking restrictions on London Road at Morrisons, to help ease congestion at the traffic lights.
For the Bath Christmas Market, coaches must have registered to use designated drop-off points and park at one of the designated coach parks. Traffic orders for North Parade, Orange Grove, High Street, and Grand Parade mean unregistered coaches will be moved on.
There will also be restrictions to coach parking on Bathwick Hill, Bear Flat and the inbound carriageway of Wellsway.
