BUS LANE FOR MAIN CITY ROAD
TWO TRAFFIC LANES REDUCED TO ONE ON A50 GROBY ROAD
A BUS lane is proposed on one of the busiest roads into Leicester.
City council bosses intend to run it along the city-bound stretch of Groby Road between Mary Road and Medina Road – reducing the number of lanes for general traffic from two to one.
It would be policed round-the-clock by an enforcement camera issuing £60 fines to drivers using it illegally and a 30mph speed limit would be applied along the route, which is currently 40mph.
The council said the A50 Groby Road is a major route for bus services into the city and the volume of traffic creates a pinch point that affects the reliability and punctuality of services.
Councillor Adam Clarke, deputy city mayor for environment and transportation, said: “Traffic surveys have highlighted this stretch of the Groby Road is a pinch-point for buses and that affects journey times and reliability of services for passengers.
“It’s important the council does all it can to encourage people to take the bus, not least because transport is responsible for a quarter of our city’s carbon emissions.
“Ensuring buses are reliable and have priority will help us to further improve the city’s air quality and help address the climate emergency.”
The council is carrying out an online consultation on the measures which runs until Monday, September 30.
A drop-in event to discuss the scheme will be held at the Woodgate Resource Centre, in Woodgate, on Friday, from 11am to 7pm.
The Groby Road bus lane would be part of a series of projects the council is proceeding with across the city bringing in additional enforcement on busonly routes.
It said it wants to stop cars impeding buses so they can reach their stops without delay.
It hopes this will make public transport a more attractive option to private car use in the city, which could reduce congestion on its traffic-choked roads.
More widely, the council is considering establishing a workplace parking levy – a tax on parking spaces owned by city employers.
The controversial idea could generate up to £7 million a year to be used to improve Leicester’s network of bus services.