Interchange plan avoids controversial bus gates

PLYMOUTH'S planned £156 million Manadon Interchange upgrade is not expected to include controversial "bus gates", but it does have two areas where buses could have priority over cars.

- WILLIAM TELFORD

Plymouth City Council said the "initial" design for the ambitious regeneration of the interchange where the A38 meets the A386 does not have money-spinning "bus gates", where only buses are allowed and cars are fined for driving into them.

However, the design does have a "bus priority section" on the slip road from Tavistock Road to the Budshead roundabout and a "priority bus lane" for a long stretch of Mannamead Road. The council is currently analysing the feedback from a public consultation before moving on with the design.

Bus gates have been at the centre of controversy, with one on Cumberland Road, in Bristol, bringing in more than £2.5m in fines in just its first 15 months. Only buses, taxis and bicycles are allowed to pass through it. Southampton has just scrapped a controversial bus gate.

The initial design for the Manadon scheme said: "New bus priority lane on Mannamead Road - faster, more reliable bus services for commuters."