First buses travelling along Grapes Hill, Norwich at its junction with Dereham Road. Photo: Steve Adams
Have your say on proposal to squeeze in new bus lane in Norwich
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
2:24 PM
People can they have their say on a near-£1m project to narrow traffic lanes on a busy Norwich road to squeeze in a new bus route.
Designs to widen parts of Grapes Hill to help buses travel faster uphill toward the Chapel Field Road roundabout have been developed by transport officials.
But to retain two lanes for general traffic, while creating a new bus lane, involves reducing the width of the existing southbound lanes from 3.75 metres to three metres.
The bus lane would also be available to taxis and bicycles, although the aim is to encourage pedal bikes onto a new parallel route from the St Benedicts Street junction into Wellington Lane.
A four-week consultation on the proposal, estimated to cost £920,000, is now under way
Tony Adams, Norfolk County Council member and chairman of the Norwich Highways Agency Committee, said: “The great thing about this scheme is that it allows a bus lane to be created without reducing the number of lanes for general traffic.
“Cyclists will also have a quieter alternative, so it appears to be a good scheme for all road users, but we want to hear people’s views before final decisions are taken in November.”
The public consultation runs until October 17. Responses will be reported to the Norwich Highways Agency Committee on November 29.
To comment on the proposal, visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/betterbusarea
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20 comments
One month consultation that will cost nearly £1 Million pounds!! Who on earth is vetting this absolute waste of council tax payers money?
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Bruce87
Friday, September 21, 2012
Let's just get a bus company (SandersNorfolk Green), who are interested in Norwich and not these shareholder controlled ones. Even a council one would be better than this 'mob'! I assume monopolies don't matter anymore?
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biglingers
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Waste of money. Agree Big Sean - free up existing bus lanes to improve flow. Why do they need to be blocked off for traffic 24hours a day every day including Sundays when there are hardly any buses running. Big wind up sitting in traffic when you have an empty unused bus lane right next to you!
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Andy T
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Think what 920 grand would buy to improve Norfolk and vital services.what a waste of money.criminal.
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bookworm
Thursday, September 20, 2012
"A four-week consultation on the proposal, estimated to cost £920,000, is now under way. " Of course this bus lane and the reduced road width is madness and dangerous. Another big concern is this 900k...whose pockets in this lining ????
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nrg
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Erm, NO NO NO! Screw the buses, lets improve the flow of cars & cyclists. Every other bus has 2 maybe 3 people on it! Why should public transport be made better. It sucks! They divert so much to pick people up i`m sure sitting on grapes hill for an extra minute is not going to improve anything!!!!!!!
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BigSean
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Is it april 1st already, because this proposal must be an april fools joke!
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stevejo
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
what an absolute joke, time to get this idiots out of power and put people with brains in their position, it will take a serious accident for them to realise that the road was designed like that for a reason. Time to get rid of underused bus lanes altogether and get the VED paying drivers moving again, I boycotted the buses years ago when they increased their prices.
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stevejo
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The 16 route is a lot more reliable than the 1920 , which has been the worst route in the city for 40 years to my certain knowledge ... yes , put in the bus lane but keep bikes out of it , they`ve an alternative route , and would hold up the buses , which these days can belt up the hill - provided they can get a clear run at it .
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dragonfly
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The 16 route is a lot more reliable than the 1920 , which has been the worst route in the city for 40 years to my certain knowledge ... yes , put in the bus lane but keep bikes out of it , they`ve an alternative route , and would hold up the buses , which these days can belt up the hill - provided they can get a clear run at it .
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dragonfly
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I use cars and buses. dont like demonising car owners for short term political point scoring.
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bookworm
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
fine thanks. looking forward to ROYS sale.HARHAR.
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bookworm
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Inner Link Road is and always has been a planning disaster,bringing 1000s of vechicles directly into the city centre.The Soouthern Bypass has had no effect and I doubt the proposed NDR will either.Build Roads and create more traffic !
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Albert Cooper
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Cyclist cycling uphill should be totally off road, the space is there. As for the extra lane to be created, how much is FIRST group paying towards this improvement of their performance targets? Will this subsidy result in better understanding and less grumpy FIRST drivers. As for the No.16 bus, agreed, always late, with driver exchanges taking up to 17 minutes, it is easily the worst route through the City.
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ingo wagenknecht
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Good money wasted to find out if the buses can reach the top of Grapes Hill faster, yes of course they can. The good thing is that they will have more time to sit in a stationery queue at the top, overall it is doubted if anytime will be saved. Never mind watch the dodgem cars and other traffic going down the hill!
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blackdog2
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I do wish the council would employ someone in possession of a fully working brain when they need to make these type of plans. What sort of fool believes that narrowing lanes & then putting in a bus lane that is shared by buses & cyclists is a good idea?? Think about it. These lanes are about the same width as a bus & the logic we are told is that this lane will make buses flow more easily through congested roads. So what do these idiots do?? They put slow moving bicycles in a lane that is too narrow for the bus to pass the bicycle in. The car lanes are congested & the car drivers will not, or cannot move out of the way, so at times the buses in these lanes are slower than the congested traffic, we are being told is too slow moving for them!!!!!. The logic & intelligence required to make such a decision is just so typical of Norwich City Council.
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el84
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
deja vu - seem to have seen this already! aitch - after this weekend? we on the old 16 are now lumbered with the 2122. wait with anticipation to see this new(?) arrangement. by the way, hello bookworm - how are you?
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biglingers
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
So do bus passengers, bookworm - and they reduce congestion for car drivers (like yourself, perchance?). I'm not sure why the other buses can't do what the 2122 do, and come in via WestwickSt Andrews. They could still serve St Stephens, and come round the roundabout at the top if necessary..
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aitch
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
recipe for disaster.why?cars pay enough to be on the roads.
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bookworm
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Quote- so it appears to be a good scheme for all road users. How can narrow lanes be good with a mix of cars , lorries and buses ?
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Rorping
Wednesday, September 19, 2012