Improvements will speed up drivers' journeys into Leicester
Work will start next month on a year-long roadwork scheme to speed up drivers' journeys on one of the city's most congested routes.
Cars and buses are facing long delays at the junction of Sanvey Gate and the A50 in the city centre – a main commuter route.
Now the city council is to spend £3.5million changing the layout and putting in bigger bus lanes.
The junction will be closed for two weekends next month while buildings on Sanvey Gate are demolished.
Drivers said they are willing to put up with short-term pain for long term gain if it meant less sitting in traffic.
Driver Ashley Charles, 23, who lives in the city centre, said: "I used to drive through there twice a day.
"At 5pm you'd sit there for ages for what was a relatively short journey.
"That area is in need of a rejuvenation and anything to improve it is a good idea."
Chris Mavers, 43, from Braunstone, said: "Closures are a pain but people will deal with them. I wonder whether it will put pressure on shoppers driving to Highcross if the closures are at a weekend."
Before the recession hit there were plans for houses along the stretch of waterfront from Soar Lane in the south, Northgate Street to the east, the canal to the north and the River Soar to the west.
Leicester City Council said the junction was one of the busiest in the city.
And its transport team predicts that by 2018, there will be 1,000 extra vehicles using the junction each morning at rush hour.
Councillor Patrick Kitterick, Leicester's transport spokesman, said: "This work would greatly improve people's journeys along this route, and would also unlock the potential for the development of the Waterside."
The work will be finished next year and will require two shops in Northgate Street to be demolished.
. Highcross Street will become one-way southbound from Sanvey Gate to Vaughan Way, while Great Central Street will be one way northbound to Soar Lane.
There will be new pedestrian and cycle crossings, cycle paths and wider footpaths and the Sanvey Gate bus lane will be extended.
As part of the junction works the council have lodged a compulsory purchase order for land off Pringle Street. A public inquiry will start next month.
Chris Ward, from the Leicester branch of the Association of British Drivers, said anything to improve the junction was welcome.
He said: "The problem is the road starts as a dual carriageway at the M1 and once it forms a single carriageway, the bottleneck occurs.
"As long as road closures are published in advance, drivers are usually pretty tolerant."
16 Comments
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by Jon, Oadby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 3:39PM
“I knew someone who worked in the Council's traffic management division, and he said there was a deliberate policy to slow down car drivers to try to force people into public transport. and justify the council introducing "congestion charging".”
by Julie, Leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 2:53PM
“"Drivers said they are willing to put up with short-term pain for long term gain if it meant less sitting in traffic".
-Let's see if they remember that when the headlines start about 'my nightmare journey into work'...”
by Steve B, Countesthorpe
Thursday, March 11 2010, 2:04PM
“Right from the start I said you had a sense of humour Bob . . . and I was right. Thanks for making me smile.
By the way, last time I did the cooking was last Saturday. Roast partridge, served with roast potatoes, butter braised cabbage and sweet potato, garnished with mushrooms and roasted chestnuts and served with a spicy Rioja.
So there :-)”
by j, leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:54PM
“normal comments from all. to be blunt. the scheme will not work. you will end up with more empty (except for peak hours) buses using the lane. until this council learns that a subsidized bus fare is the way forward they are never going to get people out of cars. i only use a bus occasionally as to go from wigston to the tigers ground for 4 people is 13gbp to take my car park for 4 hrs and drive back is 3gb even taking into account the new pump prices. as for looking after old buildings. wake up and smell the grass the buildings needed to be demolished before they fell down. perhaps you should look towards there previous owners before compulsory purchase took place to ask why they never tended there property or was it waiting for this very occasion. as for cycle routes take a look on the ground and you will struggle to find a safe route, they all come and go from the pavement too the road then disappear then reappear.. its a typical farce set by the current council who overspend continually and ask us as tax payers to stump up to cover their errors rather than in a normal company where the idots would be sacked. rant over”
by Mike, Leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:48PM
“Start at the city end and flatten everything up to Aldi. Lets have some nice riverside living and open spaces to enjoi, a park side pub and small business opertunites would not go amis.”
by bob down, Leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:19PM
“Steve B,
What are you doing out of the kitchen?”
by PB, Leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:01PM
“"Hopefully, the bus lanes will help them keep to time a bit better and, in turn, encourage car users to transfer to buses."
I think you need to read the report again Robert. On of the reasons given is to make ease conjestion for car drivers. Given the choice most commuters use a car, thats how it will always be.”
by millimole, LFE
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:00PM
“D of Leicester - cyclists and buses are traffic!
Yes, there's far too many people driving short distances, or too selfish to use the excellent Park & Ride services.
If these improvements mean that using the buses (and cycling) into town improves then all to the good - if it helps the car drivers too then we're all happy!”
by Robert Jamieson, Notts (working in Leicester)
Thursday, March 11 2010, 12:44PM
“Excellent news. Bus lanes are long overdue on many roads as there's simply no need for many of the cars to be on the road. Hopefully, the bus lanes will help them keep to time a bit better and, in turn, encourage car users to transfer to buses.
Robert”
by misterH, Leicester
Thursday, March 11 2010, 12:30PM
“This is a very good news. The whole area is so much from industrial age that it should have been gone long time ago. Thank goodness the sense has prevailed. I would like to see this beinge extended to the area surrounding Burleys flyover, as that looks terrible all way from the junction up until the town centre where so many pound shops are... get rid of the old scrap and please bring new life into Leicester.”