Have your say over plans for bus lane
PEOPLE are being given the chance to have their say on proposals to change a junction on one of Norwich's busiest roads.
The aim is to create fast bus services in and out of the city, and £1.5m is available to create the first Norwich rapid bus transit routes along Dereham Road (pictured). But to create a speedy bus corridor along Dereham Road, council bosses need to change the junction with Heigham Road and Old Palace Road. A formal consultation, with two options, has been launched with letters being sent to people living in the area asking for their views. The public can also comment on Norfolk county council's website. The first option, which was -originally put forward a year ago and prompted fears from many in the area about rat-running, is for no right turn for vehicles at the junction of Dereham Road with Old Palace Road heading out of the city or into Heigham Road for cars heading into the city The £300,000 scheme would reduce delays to buses, provide full crossing
facilities for pedestrians and allow cycle lanes on three of the approaches. An alternative option, at a costing £300,000 to £400,000, would retain the right hand turns and would still bring an improvement to bus journey times by widening parts of the road. But the traffic lanes would be narrow and not all pedestrian crossing points could be improved. Richard Bell, 34, of Dereham Road, said he would be in favour of banning right-hand turns: "It makes it easier for buses if they haven't got to sit in the middle of the road for half an hour." But Carley Chapman, 26, of Old Palace Road, said she would prefer to retain the right-hand turn. "I use the road quite a lot and being able to turn right makes sense rather than me having to go around." Matthew Brazier, 21, also of Old Palace Road, agreed. He said: "Keep the right hand turns and make Dereham Road wider." But Tom Masson, 32, a father-of- two who lives on Heigham Road said: "I think they need to look at why people don't use the bus in the first place. I don't think improving the road to make it easier for buses will start making people use buses. I don't use the bus simply because of price." A spokesman for Norfolk Buswatch, which campaigns for bus users, said it was vital Dereham Road was improved for buses. He said: "This is an issue that needs addressing if we're serious about speeding up public transport and making it a viable option. "We fully support the proposals to speed up public transport along what is a very important bus corridor - it's the busiest bus corridor within Norwich and so we wouldn't wish to see anything frivolous obstruct progress on that."
•Comments on the consultation can be made via www.norfolk. gov.uk/derehamroadbrt. The closing date for the consultation is February 6.