Plymouth's £5m plan to stop Royal Parade bus 'carnage'

Plymouth City Council is unveiling new designs for Royal Parade ahead of planned improvement works to cut congestion for bus passengers
-Credit: (Image: Plymouth City Council)


A planned upgrade of Royal Parade would cost £5m and take up to half a year to complete. Further details of the Royal Parade Bus Improvement Scheme, which would see average speed cameras installed on the road, have been revealed during a public consultation.

And members of the public appear to be largely in favour of the upgrade, which would see the number of bus stops increased from 12 to 15, new bus shelters installed and improved granite paving laid down.

The overall scheme, aimed at easing congestion and improving bus efficiency, would cost £5m, with the vast majority of the cash coming from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. Plymouth City Council will contribute £400,000 from its Better Places fund to transform the city city centre. There will also be £178,000 from the High Street Heritage Action Zone and £22,000 of highways revenue.

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The council hopes to have the scheme approved and contracts awarded in November with work starting in January 2025. It is envisaged as a six-month programme with construction due to be complete by July next year.

The work will be concentrated on the shops side of Royal Parade and carried out in two phases, the first from Derry’s Cross to Armada Way, and the second from Armada Way to St Andrew’s Cross roundabout.

Work will be carried out six days a week, with the road remaining open but down to one carriageway. Up to 18 workers would be employed on the upgrade at any one time.

A new toucan crossing will replace the current one in the centre of Armada Way. The static speed cameras would be removed and new average speed cameras installed at either end of Royal Parade, with the speed limit remaining at 30mph.

Council staff explained that this is because the concrete plinths for the static cameras will need to be removed as they impinge on traffic lanes. The new cameras, which the council has stressed are not a “money making” addition, will be installed where the highway is wider.

Staff said there had been a steady stream of people viewing the proposals during a consultation held at the House of Fraser store in the city centre. Staff reported that views had been “really positive” with “not a single objection”.

Jill Hitchcock, from Plympton, said she regularly catches a bus into the city centre and believes the Royal Parade upgrade will ease bus congestion. She said: “It’s necessary. I catch the 21 or 21A to Royal Parade and it’s carnage when all the buses turn up at the same time. At the moment it doesn’t work.”

Sheila Powell, from Plympton, said: “I think it is a good idea and the sooner they do it the better. Buses will be able to pull out more easily.”

A motorist herself, she was in favour of bringing in average speed cameras and said: “Everyone knows you should be driving at that speed (30mph) anyway.”

She said the Royal Parade work would add to disruption caused by other redevelopments, including in Old Town Street and New George Street, and with the imminent start to the £29m Armada Way upgrade. But she stressed: “Plymouth is being dug up left, right and centre, but Royal Parade is worth it, definitely.”

Carole Day, also from Plympton, would like the scheme to go further, with regular traffic banned from Royal Parade. She said: “They should stop normal traffic coming through and only have it for buses.”

She said that currently “buses are all over the shop” and said the revamp, with its proposed saw-tooth layout at bus stops, will be “safer for pedestrians”. She said: “This is a good scheme.”

The consultation on the Royal Parade scheme is continuing with a public information drop-in on September 14 in the Council House’s Warspite Room from 10am to 2pm. The deadline for views to be submitted is October 2 and the council said it will review feedback before a contract for the work is awarded. People can submit comments at www.plymouth.gov.uk/royal-parade-improvement-scheme or email TransportProjects@plymouth.gov.uk

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