Cabinet to consider parking plans to improve Fulwood bus

Congestion caused by parked vehicles means that bus service 23, which links Fulwood with Preston city centre, operates two different routes depending on whether it's heading towards Fulwood or back towards the city centre.

On journeys towards Fulwood the bus makes a clockwise loop of Oliver's Place and Pittman Way, but on the return it misses out this loop, only starting to picking up passengers from the southern end of Pittman Way before joining Eastway in order to keep services reliable and on time.

Lancashire County Council advertised and consulted on proposals to introduce new No Waiting At Any Time parking restrictions on parts of Pittman Way and Oliver's Place in November 2022.

Preston Bus which operates Service 23 has advised that this proposal, alongside others on the route, would reduce journey times, allowing a full two-way service to be operated around Pittman Way and Oliver's Place.

The parking restrictions are being considered as part of Lancashire County Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan which has received DfT funding of £34.1m for a range of measures to make buses the best travel option for more people.

Councillors are to consider responses received to the consultation when the cabinet next meets on Thursday 2 February.

County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Our aim is to get more people using buses for their regular travel to reduce congestion, better look after our environment, and improve our health and wellbeing.

"One of the ways we're looking to make buses a more attractive option is to make sure they provide a convenient and consistent service, running to timetables which people can rely on.

"There is potential for more of those who work in and visit the commercial area around Oliver's Place and Pittman Way to travel by bus, but the level of congestion exacerbated by parking is preventing the operation of a full service for this area.

"We need to strike a balance between the needs of everyone who uses Lancashire's roads, and I will be asking cabinet to carefully consider these proposals."