THE bus lanes are back!
From Monday (Nov 24) at high noon, motorists venturing into bus lanes will face fines.
Only one lane will be in permanent use, with three others operating on a part-time basis. And that ponders the question of whether drivers will be confused and caught out by the mixed bag of time zones.
During the past year when bus lanes have been suspended many motorists have still steered clear of the lanes anyway.
The part time return of the Lime Street bus lane will mean that between noon and 6pm Mondays to Saturdays, all except buses, taxis and cyclists will have to head up Copperas Hill and down Skelhorne Street, passed the congested entrance to Lime Street Station, to avoid being snapped by the council’s money-hungry cameras.
Early morning commuters will be able to use the Lime Street bus lane until noon, and after six and all day Sunday.
A similar time frame (noon to 6pm Mondays to Saturdays) will operate along the Strand for the bus lane turning into James Street.
Motorists in the know will revert to their old practice of turning left into Mann Island, doing a sharp u-turn and then driving up James Street.
St John’s Lane inbound bus lane will only operate between 4pm and 6pm Mondays to Saturdays. Other times and all day Sundays it will be a free for all.
The bus lane on the north side of The Strand leading to Liverpool One bus station will be banned to general traffic on a 24/7 basis. That is even though growing numbers of services are ditching the bus station as a terminus and finishing their routes at Mann Island or other final stopping places.
None of the other 22 bus lanes in Liverpool will be brought back into use, though traffic flows will be kept under review.
Mayor Joe Anderson has said if he had had his way only two bus lanes would have been re-introduced, but he gave an undertaking to follow the recommendations of independent traffic consultants Mott McDonald (and they recommended the return of the four).
Mayor Anderson said: “I made it clear from the start that if the review found that any bus lanes were needed then we would reintroduce them and that is what we are doing with the four in the city centre. This was a very thorough analysis of the effects on traffic of the bus lanes and I would hope that all drivers would accept its findings.
Quick
“We are not just going back to the previous situation, but have looked carefully at what times the bus lanes are needed and they will only be in operation at those times.
“The bus lane review was aimed at making the traffic flow better in the city for all road users. It’s important that travelling through the city is as quick as possible for all road users for business, for residents, for visitors and I believe this can now be achieved if drivers are aware of and respect the bus lane routes. We will,though, continue to monitor the situation to see if any future adjustments are needed.”
The review of bus lanes has been part of a wider city transport plan which will be concluded in February 2015.
The review will look at shaping future transport needs of the city, improving gateway routes, public realm and pedestrianisation and improving all public transport infrastructure.
It could also could see the introduction of London-style red-routes along major roads into the city centre.
