Liverpool bans cars on city centre street
Starting Monday, a bus gate on the westbound carriageway of Ranelagh Street will go into effect.
As a bus gate, the carriageway will only be accessible to buses, bicycles and taxis between 7am and midnight. The Liverpool bus gate will start at the junction of Great Charlotte Street and Ranelagh Street.
The bus gate is a trial and will last for 18 months. After that time, Liverpool City Council will evaluate whether the traffic measure was successful in its goal to reduce congestion and pollution, while also improving safety. If these goals have been made, the bus gate would become permanent.
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for environment and climate change, Cllr Dan Barrington, stated that the bus gate was part of the council’s push to support sustainable transport.
Barrington said: “The benefits of this measure will be considerable in terms of reducing congestion and improving safety in the heart of our city centre, and we have worked with our bus partners and public and private taxi sectors on making sure the design works for them.”
Bus gates on Ranelagh Street are nothing new. A similar measure was introduced in 2020. Issues with enforcement cameras, however, lead to the removal of the bus gate.
Those issues have since been resolved, and Liverpool City Council will enforce the traffic order using CCTV cameras and Civil Enforcement Officers.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s transport and air quality portfolio holder, Cllr Liam Robinson, echoed the optimism of Barrington.
Robinson said: “The reintroduction of the bus gate on Ranelagh Street will have a really positive impact in helping to reduce congestion in this part of the city centre and encourage people to use buses as their preferred way of travelling.”
Later, he added: “This is just the first of a number of bus priority measures we are looking to introduce, alongside other exciting developments including a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen buses, and a new £2 single bus fare which we are introducing in the next few weeks.”
Better late than never. This is a great first step.
By Bixteth Bill
All well and good if you have a good public transport network but Liverpool City region doesn`t. It has no tram network , also it brags about Merseyrail but this is not a proper metro and we need a bigger Central Station and more stations at Vauxhall, and the University for example, however all we are getting is the Baltic in 3 years time.
Getting to Hanover Street car park is now very difficult and it will mean a massive detour down Duke Street which is already clogged with slowed traffic at the bottom. I reckon after 4 weeks it will become apparent that this will be a disaster, unless you want to venture out after midnight. Also the £2 bus fare is a good move but if you are changing buses you have to pay again, whereas on the continent a bus ticket can last for one hour ,which allows a change of bus.
By Anonymous
Just another reason not to visit town –
Cheshire oaks
Speke retail park
Edge lane retail park
Are car and business friendly so therefore a more attractive place to visit than the city Center
By Stuart wood
Absolutely brilliant and a step forward. This road is dangerous and jars with the pedestrianised beauty of Church Street and onward to the bottom half of Bold Street. Thank the Lord the politicians have the guts to do what’s right in the face of car whingers
By Power to the people
Congestion wouldn’t be a problem if taxis didn’t just park anywhere they feel like and block the road. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights are ridiculous. Can take 40-50 minutes to get from liverpool one bus station to St John’s. Don’t believe me come and sit with my passengers and experience it for yourself.
By Anonymous