Park-and-ride rethink protects area
New plans for a £2 million city centre drop off point for Leicester's new park-and-ride service have been revealed.
The proposals for the transport hub, in St Nicholas Place, were first put forward in September last year, but were met with opposition.
That design directed buses along the cobbled street of Applegate to exit the area.
Leicester Civic Society, residents and businesses argued that vibrations from the vehicles could damage buildings such as the nearby Guildhall.
Following a rethink by transport bosses, buses will now enter from St Nicholas Circle and exit back into the same stretch of road.
To make this possible, a road through part of the ground-level Castle Park car park will have to be built.
The designs will go before the council's cabinet for approval next week. If they are passed, work will begin on the £1.9 million project next month.
It is hoped the hub, which will act as a drop-off and collection point, will be up and running in the autumn to tie in with the start of the park-and-ride service from Enderby.
Councillor Patrick Kitterick, the council's cabinet member for transport and regeneration, said: "This is a major scheme, which will mean big improvements for public transport in Leicester.
"We have consulted widely with traders and local residents. We have listened to what they have said about the scheme and have tried to address the issues with the latest designs.
"This bus hub will be a big step forward in terms of providing a high-quality, accessible bus hub for people using the park-and-ride services. It will encourage more people to use public transport as an alternative to cars."
As part of the Enderby service, buses will complete a "mini loop" of the city, incorporating Horsefair Street, Welford Road and Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The service will use upgraded existing bus stops. Funding for this will come from the Enderby Project Board.
Terry Kirby, of Campaign for Better Transport, said: "We would support the 'mini loop' – that's what people need, because one of the problems is a lot of people don't know how to find their way around the centre on public transport and hopefully this will help with that."
Stuart Bailey, chairman of the Civic Society, said: "I'm delighted the council is not making the big mistake of putting traffic through Applegate.
"It would have been environmentally disastrous."
The hub will also serve buses from the park-and-ride at Meynells Gorse, in Leicester Forest East.
There will be three new bus shelters, raised kerbs and access to the Star Trak bus timetable system.
There will also be a taxi rank at the edge of the car park, and a two-way cycle route from Highcross Street to St Nicholas Place, Applegate and through to Southgates.
The work will involve removing a number of trees, but all will be replaced with new ones as near to the site as possible.
Major improvements to the pedestrian route are also planned for the north side of the area to link the city centre to the waterside in Bath Lane.
The scheme will be put before the council's overview and scrutiny management board for comments on Thursday and before the cabinet for approval on February 16.
4 Comments
by Tony, Leicester
Monday, February 09 2009, 3:13PM
“This is a good plan, but in the wrong location. The desire to bring people into the city centre by public transport rather than car is commendable. However the St Nicholas Circle/Place area is a testament to the destruction of the "Old Town" for the sake of the motor car. Remember what Sir Nikolaus Pevsner said in 1960.
¿The group of Castle, St Mary, the Newarke, St Nicholas, the Roman Baths, St Martin, and the Guildhall is something the patriotic citizen of Leicester might proudly take any visitor to, British or foreign¿.
These buildings still exist, but they are separated from each other by the awful ring road and Southgates Underpass. The worst act of vandalism ever inflicted on our city and sponsored by the City Council. Numerous studies have over the years advocated the removal of this part of the ring road, to allow the current city centre to re-connect to the Castle area and St Nicholas Church and Jewry wall. The historic Greyfriar's, Guildhall and Cathedral were once linked physically to the Roman and Medieval buildings on the opposite side of the A594.
Richard III would have been carried along the streets that linked these two areas together. Nobility from all over Europe would have once known the streets which were wiped away by bulldozers only a generation ago. Geoffrey Chaucer was married in St Mary de Castro. Kings have been knighted and layed to rest here. The English Parliament was invented and held here.
We have in this area a unique fabric of urban evolution which is unequalled in this country. Within walking distance are actual remains of a Roman Bath House and the second largest piece of standing Roman public building in the country, many Roman mosaics, one of the oldest churches in the UK, a Castle Great Hall, numerous Medieval and Tudor buildings, the remains of a church which once held a thorn from Christ's crucifixion, the third oldest railway in the world, the site of the High Cross which was the very centre of the British Roman Empire, three gateways dating from the fifteen century, a wealth of Georgian architecture, the final resting place of the last English king to die in battle, many fine Victorian buildings and some emerging 21st century structures.
The area would be ripe for a Heritage Park unmatched by any other in the country, with physical buildings from every major achitectural period in the history of this country.
The opportunity is there to remove this part of the ring road and channel traffic away from West Bridge and across St Augustines and Blackfriar's to link up with St Margaret's Bus Station. St Margaret's could be extended to act as a Park and Ride Hub, with a second major interchange at London Road Station. Then we can re-connect the current city centre with the "Old Town" and undo the mistakes made by the Council 40 years ago.
The Park and Ride hub planned for St Nicholas Place will cement the current status quo and condemn Leicester to further years of an ugly scar within its historic heart. Konrad Smigielski, the man who wanted to rip even more out of Leicester eventually mellowed and stated that "A city without old buildings is like a person without a memory." This could be expanded upon, as a city that mistreats its old buildings, is like a person without a heart.
Please Leicester City Council. Show some ambition and some heart and give us back our "Old Town".”
by Brian, Barrow
Monday, February 09 2009, 11:59AM
“What happened to the proposed Park and Ride from Birstall ? There was supposed to be one but I have heard nothing for months”
by JIm Mitchinson, LFE
Monday, February 09 2009, 11:49AM
“Why is it the the council couldn't see the obvious, that directing buses along Applegate would effect some of the historic buildings along that route and had to rely on Civic Society amonst others to point it out to them?”
by Graham, leicester
Monday, February 09 2009, 11:43AM
“"It will encourage more people to use public transport as an alternative to cars" A third bus station then, Nice and handy for an onward journey via st margarets/charles st/london rd.
Is it not time to start with a clean sheet of paper and find ways to integrate things a bit better.
Take a look at a pre-war map of leicester and see the tram line running past London Rd station and on through the heart of the city. Not the confused mess of buses going to bus stations that are half a mile from anywhere.
Why not extend st margarets into the old ABC cinema? Why not a monorail down granby st and gallowtree gate?
Do something different, not the same old mess down another street. Give Leicester something to be proud of!”