- What: ULTra PRT Design Exhibition
- Where: Green Park Station, Bath
- When: Nov. 12-13
- Cost: Free to the public
As part of the CIVITAS Renaissance Project, Advanced Transport Systems (ATS) is planning apublic exhibition of ULTra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) design concepts for the city of Bath. The two-day event, which is free to the public, will provide information about PRT, what it can offer, and how it may be adapted to a historic city environment. Taking place on the 12th and 13th November in the market square at Green Park Station, the exhibition will feature the visions of independent designers from around the world, looking at how PRT might someday be applied to a city like Bath. ATS will be soliciting the public's reaction to the different ideas proposed.
A visualisation of the current ULTra vehicle design.
Bath ULTra PRT Design Competition
In June 2009, ATS launched an international design competition to harness the talent of designers around the world, who were invited to submit their own visions of how the ULTra system could be adapted to this historic site. Via a purpose-built website (www.atsltd.co.uk/Bath), participants were provided with detailed information on the ULTra PRT system, including 3D design templates for the stations, guideway and vehicles.
All aspects of the ULTra PRT system can be customised to suit the local environment.
The design of the hypothetical ULTra network for Bath is still ongoing, however for the purposes of the competition, several specific sites were identified where the competition participants could locate their designs. Given the focus of the CIVITAS Renaissance Project on future transport in historic city environments, areas close to the interior of Bath were most appropriate – this meant that the competitors had to address some of the most challenging sites in the city. The chosen sites are:
- Green Park Station
- Saint James's Rampire
- The riverside near Pulteney Bridge
- Cattle Market Car Park
ATS received over 130 registrations for the competition, from over 20 different countries, with innovative design submissions sent in from individual architecture students and large multinational design firms alike. Selected entries will be displayed at the public exhibition on the 12th and 13th of November at Green Park Station, Bath. Additionally, the designs will be assessed and critiqued by an independent jury. This judging panel comprises experts from a wide range of backgrounds, who have been chosen not only for their technical expertise, but also for their local knowledge of Bath and its cultural and historic environment.
ULTra Study in Bath
ATS has been commissioned by the European Union's CIVITAS Renaissance programme to study the potential for using the ULTra PRT system to improve transportation in historic urban environments. The study site is Bath, a historic city that is also an UNESCO World Heritage site - in fact the only city in the world to be designated a World Heritage site in its entirety. This research has been under way for just over a year, and will culminate in a 2010 report to the European Union. There are no plans to actually build an ULTra system in Bath, however it is anticipated that this study will inform the development of ULTra systems in other urban environments.
"This is an exciting and very challenging project for us," said Nathan Koren, Project Studies Manager at ATS. “We believe strongly that a PRT system such as ULTra could make a very positive contribution and complement the transportation mix in Bath, by reducing pollution and easing congestion. As well as being a tourist attraction of the highest calibre Bath has a high residential and working population, creating the type of traffic congestion problems that are typical for many historical settings. A PRT system such as ULTra could potentially allow all travellers better access to and within towns and cities, enabling greater accessibility to tourist attractions, as well as hospitals, universities and business and residential areas"
"However, being located in a beautiful and historic environment such as Bath means that there are many other concerns - not strictly related to transportation - which must be addressed. What would the system look like? How would it blend into the existing urban fabric? How would it relate to the businesses and institutions throughout the city? What would the local residents think about such a scheme? How should their concerns and preferences be assessed, and incorporated into the planning and design process? This study gives us the opportunity to focus on these very important social, cultural, and political questions. Even if this research does not lead to an ULTra project in Bath itself, we believe that it will have broad applicability in many other urban environments."
More information about the exhibition and the Bath design study can be found at:
