New bus lanes proposed for St Leonards road

Bus lanes along a busy main road in St Leonards are set to be built next year.
Jeff Jolley, Pete Oldfield, Bill and Eve Montgomery and Jo Browning SUS-170530-130432001Jeff Jolley, Pete Oldfield, Bill and Eve Montgomery and Jo Browning SUS-170530-130432001
Jeff Jolley, Pete Oldfield, Bill and Eve Montgomery and Jo Browning SUS-170530-130432001

East Sussex County Council said the lanes in Bexhill Road are needed to improve reliability of bus services in the area.

The authority has posted signs informing people that the work will be carried out.

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However some residents in the road have voiced their opposition to the proposals since they were announced.

Peter Oldfield, of Bexhill Road, said many people would lose their parking spaces in the road and the move would cause ‘chaos’.

The bus lanes are believed to cost more than £450,000.

Earlier this year, Matthew Beaver, county councillor for Maze Hill & West St Leonards division, said the money would be better spent elsewhere on improving bus services, such as introducing electronic timing boards.

A county council spokesman said: “The signs are statutory notices that have to be displayed on site in order to introduce bus stop clearways. We expect work to start in early 2018.

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“The bus lanes along the A259 are part of a range of improvement measures associated with the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road scheme. They are designed to improve the speed and reliability of bus services in the area and encourage more people to use public transport.

“As well as sections of bus lane, the proposals include an upgrade of facilities at bus stops along Bexhill Road with the introduction of high access kerbs and real-time passenger information displays, which indicate when the next bus is due. We are also working with Hastings Borough Council to upgrade bus shelters. The improvement measures are a condition of planning permission and Department for Transport funding for the Link Road, and will help to maintain the reduced traffic levels on the A259 brought about by the development of the Link Road.”