THE mayor of Bradford on Avon has warned residents that there is no ‘quick fix’ to the town’s traffic problems following a recent public consultation.

Cllr Sarah Gibson told a meeting on Tuesday the council has “tried its best” to consult the town and find out people’s views and opinions.

The Future of Transport consultation report disclosed that 95 per cent of people who responded to the survey identified traffic issues as ‘a major problem’ or ‘a problem’.

Cllr Gibson said: “This survey has not come out of the blue. Traffic is not a new conversation in this town.”

A Key Evidence Review Board led by Cllr Simon McNeill-Ritchie in 2018/19 had concluded that more than half of the traffic in Bradford on Avon was through traffic and not local.

Following its key findings, the KERB report concluded the town should be systematically consulted on the way forward. “I would like to think that we have tried our best to do that,” Cllr Gibson said.

The KERB Report and the latest consultation findings would be presented to Wiltshire Council. The town council hopes to work with the highways authority to reach a satisfactory outcome.

Cllr Gibson warned: “This will take time. There is no magic bullet. There is not a quick fix.

“If it were easy and straightforward and non-conflictive it would probably have been done years ago. The reason why we are 40 years later still discussing it is that it is a difficult situation.”

Residents identified the top three priorities as: reduction of traffic volumes, improving air quality, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety and comfort.

The council added: “We seek a solution which balances these interests by mitigating all three sets of impacts and does not reduce one set of risks only by increasing others.

“However, our view is that pedestrian safety is our foremost concern, given the immediate risks of injury or even death.”

The Copper Consultancy survey was commissioned by the council following the removal of the town’s social distancing one-way system last August.

Consultation ran for six weeks from November 22 to January 9. Altogether, 2,107 responses were submitted and analysed, with 83 per cent of respondents living within the town boundary.

An interactive map was made available for people to give comments on specific areas and what improvements were needed – a total of 642 people responded to this, making a total of 2,749 responses.

Town councillors will present its findings to Wiltshire Council highways department and Cllr Mark McClelland, the Cabinet Member for Transport, for consideration.

They will ask Wiltshire Council to work in consultation with the town council to design measures to improve travel in Bradford on Avon consistent with the residents’ views expressed in the report.