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Portswood Bus-gate Trial 27 January 2025 (extract from HRA E-news January 2025)

Portswood Bus-gate Trial  27 January

Project progress from SCC:

“We are now moving into the next project phase which will trial a part-time bus/taxi/cycle-only section of Portswood Road, between St Denys Road spur and Westridge Road, and Active Travel Zones in neighbouring streets, both from early 2025.

By restricting general traffic through the Broadway but still allowing access to car parking spaces, the project aims to improve bus journey times and deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.

The bus gate and ATZs will both be introduced on a trial basis for a minimum of 6 months to assess the potential impact. The part-time bus/taxi/cycle-only section will be operational Monday to Saturday between the hours of 7:00am-10:00am and 4:00pm-7:00pm. During the trial, access will be maintained northbound through the bus gate for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), with a loading bay proposed for St Denys Road spur. In addition to this, we are looking to introduce the following improvements to the area:

  • New, larger bus shelters
  • Two new parklets; offering seating, planting and cycle parking
  • Contraflow cycle lane on St Denys Road spur
  • 20-mph limit for the area
  • New buildouts with cycle bypasses on Brookvale Road and Belmont Road
  • Traffic filter on Russell Place at its junction with Abbotts Way.

Some preparatory works will be required during November, December and January. Details of these and any associated traffic management will be communicated in advance on the project website and by letter to directly affected residents.

We plan to continue working with local residents’ associations, retailers, traders and other representatives from the community through the Portswood Project Steering Group to monitor the implementation, progress and outcome of the trial.”

More here: Latest SCC Update

SCC Project Objectives

As part of the trial, the level of achievement of each of the following objectives for the Portswood Project will be measured by Consultants working for SCC:

  1. To regenerate and make Portswood District Centre a more attractive, accessible, vibrant and competitive economic destination so people spend more time and money here
  2. To improve the air quality, environment and biodiversity
  3. To provide more space for people walking and wheeling with improved connectivity and road safety
  4. To improve the choices of transport modes for people to use
  5. To improve bus reliability and journey times and create better bus stops
  6. To enhance quality of life for all who live, work or shop in the area
  7. To reduce the amount of through route traffic on local roads
  8. To reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

Key Performance Indicators

The Steering Group, which includes several members of HRA and partner residents’ associations, helped the Project Team to draw up Key Performance Indicators by which the success of the trial will also be measured.

Base data

The base data or starting point will soon be released by the Consultants.  It is expected that this would include details such as current through traffic vehicle movements (7am-10am and 4pm-7pm) through Portswood Broadway and through the Active Travel Zone (ATZ), bus journey times and anti-social behaviour figures.  These can then be measured for improvements during the six-months of the Trial.

HRA Monitoring

At the HRA Committee Meeting on 7 January it was agreed that HRA should seek the support of members to also monitor the Trial.  There are some aspects that members could not measure like air quality and members would only have a perception on whether it was safer to cycle and there was more space to walk.

The details of the HRA monitoring are currently being prepared and members will be advised in due course.   HRA will be contacting members at intervals throughout the first six months of the Bus-gate Trial to enlist their support in monitoring of the project from the viewpoint of residents on the ATZ, local roads and Portswood Broadway Bus-gate.  Member involvement will be entirely voluntary.

It is intended that HRA will use aspects of the Monitoring Plan Summary, alongside the KPIs and their success criteria, that are available to ordinary people i.e. not scientists or professional planners, and ask members to make observations at regular intervals.  These will be collated and summarised.

HRA will work with partner Residents Associations where appropriate.

Early Traffic Monitoring SCC

Automatic Traffic Counters are being installed on Brookvale Road, Abbotts Way and Belmont Road and will remain in place for 4 weeks for early traffic monitoring in the ATZ.
Traffic Regulation Orders – all come into effect on 27 January

This is a summary of Southampton City Council Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) proposals and other regulatory notices.  The consultation on these ran from 25 October 2024 to 15 November 2024.  On the 6 December 2024, following consideration of all the responses received during the consultation, the Council approved the introduction of these proposals as advertised.

In Portswood Centre they include:
A new loading bay in St Denys Road spur (TRO)
A build-out in Portswood Road for the Bus-gate restriction (Traffic Calming)
Disabled parking bay and limited time parking changes in Portswood Road (Supporting Measure)

In the ATZ they include:
A build-out on Highfield Lane
3 new islands on Brookvale Road
2 new build-out and islands on Brookvale Road
A new build-out and island on Belmont Road (all Traffic Calming)
Suspension of specific permit holder / limited waiting parking bays on Highfield Lane (1 place), in Brookvale Road (3 places) and a 10m section in Russell Place (Supporting Measures)

Across a wider area they include:
The introduction of a 20 mph speed limit (TRO)

The following Roads are included in the 20mph:

Abbotts Way, Alma Road, Avenue Road, Belmont Road – between its junction with Lawn Road to its junction with St Denys Road, Blenheim Avenue, Brookvale Road, Cambridge Road – between its northern closed end to its junction with Lodge Road, Cedar Road – between its junction with Avenue Road to its junction with Lodge Road, Clifford Dibben Mews (off Avenue Road), Crofton Close, Earls Road – between its junction with Livingstone Road to its junction with Lodge Road, Gordon Avenue, Highcliff Avenue, Highfield Lane – between its junction with Glebe Court (eastern junction) and its junction with Portswood Road, Lawn Road, Leigh Road, Livingstone Road, Norcliffe Road, Oakmount Avenue, Osborne Road South, Portswood Avenue, Portswood Road – between its junction with Lodge Road to its junction with St Denys Road, Regent Court (off Winn Road), Rigby Road, Rose Road, Russell Place, Shakespeare Avenue, Spear Road – between its junction with Lodge Road to its junction with Avenue Road, Spring Crescent, St Denys Road (Spur), Tennyson Road, Thackeray Road, Westbourne Crescent, Westridge Road, Westwood Road, Winn Road, Woodside Road, and Woodstock Drive.

This SCC webpage has the full information of the TROs, the Notices of Supporting Measures and Traffic Calming Measures which were approved:

https://transport.southampton.gov.uk/tro-consultations/portswood-broadway/

Next – Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (SCC)

“(ETROs) for the bus-gate and ATZs were made on 23 October and will come into force on 27 January 2025. The Council will be considering in due course whether or not to make these ETROs permanent. Any person may object to, or make any other comment on, the ETROs being made permanent within six months of them coming into force (or within six months of any modification to ETRO coming into force, whichever is later).

It is worth noting that comments made on the ETROs before 27 January will be recorded but will only be considered along with all other responses to the ETROs following the end of the six-month consultation period.”

It is possible to make more than one comment on the ETROs at any time during the Trial period.  For example, a comment relevant to the start of the Trial period might generate a different comment after month five.

HRA would encourage members to maintain an active interest and engagement during the whole of the Trial period.

ETROs that affect the ATZ include:
https://transport.southampton.gov.uk/media/3322/portswood-atz-map-v1.pdf
(maps including Brookvale Road and Russell Place)

This is where you can make comments:
https://transport.southampton.gov.uk/tro-consultations/portswood-broadway/

At our recent AGM Councillor Keogh commented: “It is right to direct traffic to Thomas Lewis Way.  We have done the modelling and I am confident TLW can cope with the extra traffic.  We acknowledge there has been opposition but it is a trial.  If there is evidence that the scheme is not working we can’t proceed.  The trial is to see if it can work and create a vibrant district centre.”