In a bid to reduce the length of bus journeys along two heavily congested 'bus corridors' in Exeter and improve active travel, Devon County Council (DCC) has announced road changes which could come into force by March 2025. A public consultation has been launched today, February 19, for people to give their views on the introduction of new bus lanes, two pedestrian and cycle crossings and bus priority technology.
It would also include using CCTV cameras that would give DCC the power to fine drivers for traffic offences along the bus corridors. The scheme covers two bus corridors; central and eastern. It is hoped it could result in bus journeys being around four minutes quicker on central routes and a 27 per cent reduction in bus journey times on eastern routes
The Exeter Central Bus Corridor is approximately 3km (1.9 miles) in length between Paris Street Roundabout and Middlemoor Roundabout, predominantly along Honiton Road and Heavitree Road. The bus corridor has up to 30 buses an hour in each direction Mondays to Saturdays.
The Exeter Eastern Bus Corridor is approximately 3.4km (2.1 miles) in length between Sidwell Street and Pinhoe Sainsbury’s predominantly along Pinhoe Road (B3212) which has up to 18 buses per hour (two-way total) running along it Monday to Saturday.
Increasing traffic congestion in Exeter has been a growing problem in the city for many years, affecting the reliability of its bus service. Both the central and eastern bus corridors areas have been impacted recently following the introduction of a trial controversial low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.The Exeter Eastern Bus Corridor is approximately 3.4km (2.1 miles) in length between Sidwell Street and Pinhoe Sainsbury’s predominantly along Pinhoe Road (B3212) which has up to 18 buses per hour (two-way total) running along it Monday to Saturday.
Increasing traffic congestion in Exeter has been a growing problem in the city for many years, affecting the reliability of its bus service. Both the central and eastern bus corridors areas have been impacted recently following the introduction of a trial controversial low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
The Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets Trial was launched on August 3, with the consultation period ending on May 8. Three barriers and two bus gates have been installed in Heavitree and Whipton, along with changes to parking restrictions on Ladysmith Road.
Now residents are also asking to share their views about different proposals to improve traffic flow in the city for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. The scheme's aims include making bus a more attractive travel choice by reducing journey times, making trips more reliable and offering safe, conveniently located crossings for people walking and cycling.
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: “These improvements we are proposing aim to make the bus a more attractive travel choice by reducing journey times and making trips more reliable. We aim to use a combination of technology, physical interventions, and bus lane operational time changes to develop a ‘smarter’ bus network offering potential journey time savings of up to four and a half minutes.
“The proposals also include two new active travel crossings to help promote healthier and more sustainable community-wide travel choices by offering safe, conveniently located crossings for people walking, wheeling, and cycling."
The scheme is part of Devon County Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) published in October 2021. The design phase for the bus corridors will be completed by Summer 2024 and the bus related schemes will be complete and operational by March 2025.
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