Portswood Project reaches new milestone

Southampton City Council, working with its highways partner Balfour Beatty, is about to enter the next phase of the Portswood Project which will trial a part-time bus/taxi/cycle-only section of Portswood Road (from Westridge Road to St Denys Road spur) and Active Travel Zones (ATZs) in neighbouring streets, both from early 2025

The Portswood Project aims to regenerate and make Portswood District Centre a more attractive, accessible, vibrant and competitive economic destination so people spend more time and money here. In addition, it seeks to improve the air quality, environment and biodiversity and provide more space for people walking and wheeling, with improved connectivity and road safety. The trial should improve bus reliability and journey times, and the availability of different transport modes.

These proposals have been developed following extensive consultation with the Portswood community and with advice from a local Steering Group. The proposed part-time bus/taxi/cycle-only section will operate Monday to Saturday from 7-10am and from 4-7pm and both the bus/taxi/cycle-only section and ATZs will be introduced on a trial basis for at least 6 months to assess the impacts. An independent consultant has been appointed to undertake the project monitoring.

In addition to the bus/taxi/cycle-only section of Portswood Broadway, the council will introduce the following supporting improvements:

• 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 surrounding area.
• New buildouts with cycle bypasses on Brookvale Road and Belmont Road.
• Traffic filter on Russell Place at its junction with Abbotts Way.

As part of this process, we are consulting on Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and other regulatory notices which can be viewed online at transport.southampton.gov.uk/tro-consultations. Alternatively, hard copies are available in Portswood Library, October Books or Gateway in the Civic Centre.

The consultation will be open from Friday 25 October to Friday 15 November 2024. Feedback can be submitted online, at Portswood Library, or in writing to the Highways Legal Team at Southampton City Council, Civic Centre, SO14 7LY. Please quote the specific title of the public notice you are commenting on to enable us to accurately record your views.

Andrew Wickham, Bluestar and Unilink managing director, said:

“The introduction of this priority scheme will allow our vehicles to traverse Portswood Road at peak times, ahead of private cars - ensuring our services are more frequent and reliable here.

“Currently 21 buses from Bluestar and Unilink - our partnership with the University of Southampton - run along Portswood Road per hour, so this is a key part of our network. The Portswood Project will not only improve the experience of passengers travelling by bus along this route, it will also contribute to a cleaner environment across the area.

“I would like to thank Southampton City Council for having the foresight to introduce these significant measures - and for engaging with us whilst designing the scheme.
“Alongside this project, we have made our own investment, bringing new low emissions buses to the Bluestar 2 route, which runs along Portswood Road.

“Thanks to our strong partnership with both Southampton City Council and the University of Southampton, we have the chance to embrace green and efficient public transport in Southampton now and for many years to come.”

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:

“We appreciate that there are strong feelings within the Portswood community both for and against the proposals which is why we are progressing with this trial which will provide more evidence to inform future decisions.

“I would like to thank all the people who have engaged with us on the proposals so far for their commitment to making Portswood the best place it can be and encourage anyone yet to do so to join in and let your voice be heard. We will continue to work with residents’ associations, retailers, traders and other representatives of the community to monitor the implementation, progress and outcomes of the trial.”