Exeter bus lane proposals branded 'ridiculous'

The bus lane changes would see waiting and loading restrictions times significantly reduced

Proposed changes to waiting and loading restrictions along bus lanes in parts of Exeter to extend bus priority timings have been branded 'ridiculous' by local traders. Devon Council Council (DCC) has launched a consultation as part of its Exeter Bus Service Improvement Plans.

Funding has been allocated by central government to improve bus services in the county. It's hoped to reduce bus journey times by up to four minutes in some parts of the city.

Plans have been shared that will impact bus lanes in four key areas of the city - Fore Street in Heavitree, Heavitree Road, Pinhoe Road and Honiton Road. The proposal for Fore Street - home to a number of local businesses - is for the bus lane to be in operation from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday, with no waiting or loading during those hours.

The same new bus lane restrictions will also apply for Heavitree Road. Currently, the rules in Fore Street only restrict loading Monday to Friday between 8am to 9.30am and 4pm to 6.30pm.

The council says it will enable buses to pass queuing traffic during the daytime when they are currently experiencing delays. The plans also includes parking in North Street being shortened to allow the traffic lanes to be widened on the exit onto Fore Street to 'improve capacity and bus movements out of the junction'.

Following the launch of the consultation, Heavitree Traders Association has called a special meeting for members to discuss the proposals next Wednesday, September 25. Independent Heavitree councillor Lucy Haigh will also be attending.

Matthew Rowbury, chairman of Heavitree Traders Association, described the proposals as 'ridiculous' and said: "Although the traders fully support the ambition to increase public transport usage, which in turn should have an effect on reducing the number of short vehicle journeys and support the reduction of pollution along the Heavitree corridor, we feel that the proposed solution would not significantly help to achieve this goal and to the contrary would be devastating for trade due to removal of parking along the bottom of Fore Street.

"More importantly, with no loading/ unloading from 7am to 7pm, how do DCC expect the businesses to survive as this is a critical time to receive deliveries."

In Pinhoe Road, the bus lane will have no waiting or loading restrictions in place from 7am to 10am, Monday to Saturday, instead of from 8am to 9.15am, Monday to Friday. In Honiton Road, the new timings would be Monday to Saturday from 7am to 10am, instead of Monday to Friday, from 8am to 9.15am.

The Exeter Bus Service Improvement Plan includes enhancements to the Central Bus Corridor - between Paris Street Roundabout and Middlemoor Roundabout, predominantly along Honiton Road and Heavitree Road - accommodating up to 30 buses an hour in each direction from Monday to Saturday.

The Eastern Bus Corridor running between Sidwell Street and Pinhoe Sainsburys - predominately along Pinhoe Road - supports up to nine buses an hour in each direction from Monday to Saturday. More than 800,000 passengers use these corridors annually, according to DCC.

The online consultation details state: "Effective bus corridors, which improve speed and reliability of buses, will particularly benefit the elderly, disabled and young people who may rely more on public transport than the private car. The proposed corridor improvements include a mixture of technological and infrastructure changes as well as amendments to bus lane operation times.

"These elements together create a package of measures that improve bus services and bus user experience along both corridors. The technological improvements will enhance coordination between traffic light junctions and enable buses to be detected, allowing them to be prioritised at traffic lights when necessary."

It continued: "Overall, the combination of changes to signal timings, civil works and bus lane operation times are anticipated to achieve up to four minutes of journey time savings on the Central Corridor and three minutes and 20 seconds journey time savings on the Eastern Corridor. These savings will fluctuate depending on the bus route, congestion levels and direction of travel along the corridors."

The consultation was launched on September 19 and runs until October 10. An informal consultation was previously launched in the spring.

In July, mass opposition resulted in DCC axing proposed plans to extend bus lane hours in Cowick Street. More than 750 people signed a petition against it, and there were nearly 800 objections in all.

To take part in the latest consultation, click here.