Source: City of Plymouth
Work will start next month (July) to change the layout of Royal Parade to improve bus services as part of Plymouth’s ambition to encourage people to make greener travel choices as the city grows.
The Royal Parade bus improvement scheme aims to reduce congestion and improve the reliability of bus services to and from the city centre by increasing the number of bus stops on the shop side.
There are over 100 buses every hour – making it the city’s busiest bus interchange – with over nine million passenger journeys from or to Royal Parade every year – either arriving to work in the city centre, to shop, stay or visit, or to head onto to destinations across the city e.g. the hospital, Plymstock or the Dockyard.
The scheme, which will be carried out by Morgan Sindall, will get underway from Monday 7 July and will take around nine months. When finished, the scheme will reduce delays at this key point by cutting queues and double stacking of buses, making services more reliable and helping to make going by bus a more attractive option than the private car.
Councillor John Stephens, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: “Plymouth needs to improve bus services to make it easier for everyone to get to work, school, shops and businesses, friends or family. Nearly 25 per cent of households in Plymouth do not have a car and with the city’s population expected to grow, improving sustainable travel choices is vital to keeping the city moving.
“We realise there is going to be some upheaval for a time for passengers, but please bear with us as the long-term gain will be better bus journeys. We are working closely with the bus companies to make sure everyone knows where to catch their buses from.”
From Monday 7 July all bus stops on the shop side of Royal Parade between Courtenay Street and St Andrews Cross Roundabout will be closed and temporary stops will be available in alternative locations around the city centre.
There will be a chance to talk through the scheme at three public drop-in events in the city centre:
- Wednesday 2 July (10am to 2pm), House of Fraser Café (top floor)
- Friday 4 July (2pm to 5.45pm), Central Library (Scott Room)
- Sunday 6 July (10am to 3pm), Royal Parade (gazebo outside House of Fraser entrance.
Information showing bus users where to find their temporary stops is available on the scheme’s webpage at www.plymouth.gov.uk/royalparade and information will be available in the Plymouth Citybus shop on Royal Parade, Central Library and in bus shelters at key destinations around the city.
The Plymotion Team and project team will also be on the ground every weekday between Monday 23 June and Friday 18 July to hand out information leaflets and make sure everyone knows where to get their bus from.
The eastbound side (or shop side) of Royal Parade will be reduced to one lane for all vehicles, meaning there will not be a dedicated bus lane between Derry’s Cross and St Andrews Cross roundabouts. Cyclists will still be able ride on the road in the all-traffic lane.
Pedestrian access will remain during the day, and all three crossings will be available. Some overnight restrictions may be needed and pedestrians diverted to the other side of Royal Parade via the crossings.
The scheme includes laying high quality granite along the pavement on this side to replace concrete slabs that have become worn and slippery in places. This means that the pavement between the kerb and shop fronts will be sectioned off for this work. This will be carried out in stages to minimise the impact on businesses and shoppers. Temporary pedestrian footways to allow access to shop doorways will be in place.
Access to shops, businesses and residential properties will remain at all times.
The carriageway reconstruction and surfacing works will require full road closures, but these will take place overnight only and a diversion route will be in place around the city centre via Western Approach, Cobourg Street and Exeter Street.
Main construction work will start on Monday 14 July and entails:
- redesigning the road with a shallow sawtooth layout, increasing the number of bus stops from 12 to 15, to prevent double stacking, unnecessary idling and improve air quality. This will improve bus manoeuvrability and safety by reducing the need for buses to reverse out and ensure passengers can get on and off from the pavement.
- clearer information about where and what bus to get in the new shelters and upgraded Real Time Passenger Information displays
- bigger shelters to make it easier for people with pushchairs or wheelchairs to use them. They will have living roofs to support biodiversity
- an upgraded toucan crossing at Armada Way for pedestrians and cyclists
- average speed camera system to replace existing static cameras, supporting a safe environment for pedestrians.
The original budget was estimate at around £5 million based on the information available at the time. With more costs finalised, £7,494,692 has now been secured from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund and Bus Grant, Historic England’s Heritage Action Zone funding and the Council’s Better Places funding.