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APPEARANCE OF THE OVERHEAD WIRES AND TRACK

 

One of the main concerns about having electric tramways in a city like Bath, is the appearance of the overhead wires; but this need not be as much of a problem in practice as is first supposed.
Only the section of the City Centre Circle between the Theatre Royal and Manvers Street will be in a visually sensitive location. By using lightweight wire and accepting slightly increased maintenance costs, the overhead system can be made practically invisible over this section. Along the Grand Parade, the use of decorative poles which also serve for street lighting and other purposes would be visually acceptable and, if placed close to the Empire Hotel Building, these would be out of sight from the weir and Parade Gardens area.

Article on the design of overhead wiring by David Hartland

The tramway track can be made practically unnoticeable on a tarmac road surface if required. The most recent mastic encapsulation system allows the top surface of the rail to be edged with roadstone chippings which exactly match those used on the rest of the road surface, only a narrow band of steel is left showing.
It is more usual, on grounds of safety, to ensure that the route is clearly marked, often with different coloured paving, so as to indicate the area which will be swept by the tram. Out side this area, pedestrians and other road users can be confident that they are completely safe from any possibility of being struck by passing trams. In some Continental towns, cafe tables are placed right at the pavement edge and diners are untroubled by trams almost brushing the table-cloths as they pass.


Details of tram stops?