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A busy route out of Preston could get an extra lane to help reduce notorious evening rush hour delays.
Plans being considered by Lancashire County Council would see fresh capacity added on the approach to Guild Way for outbound traffic heading towards Penwortham.
An additional right-turn lane would be installed on Strand Road – beneath the flyover – which would flow into another newly-created second lane on the slip road up to Guild Way itself.
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Coupled with new traffic light technology, highways bosses hope the change would ease congestion and improve access to the A582 and A59 for motorists travelling south and west out of the city. The right-turn from Strand Road has always proved a bottleneck during the evening peak, but it is possible even more vehicles are now using the route as a southerly exit from Preston following the recent introduction of the new bus gate on Corporation Street.
As part of the overhaul, one of the southbound lanes on Strand Road approaching Broadgate would be converted into a bus and cycle lane – with the aim being to complement works already completed at the recently redesigned Broadgate ‘cyclops’ junction where riders are segregated from other traffic for their protection.
The proposal is one of a series of changes earmarked for the outskirts of Preston city centre. Collectively, they form a small part of a much broader £70m blueprint to improve connections between South Ribble and Preston – including by encouraging greater use of public transport, together with more cycling and walking.
To that end, it is also proposed to reserve the inside lane of Liverpool Road – west of Broadgate – for buses and cycles, leaving only the outside lane available for other vehicles. County Hall says the change would help to improve bus journey times and reliability.
Meanwhile, on Fishergate Hill, the plans would see a new cycle lane installed from Preston railway station through to the Broadgate junction, linking to the Guild Wheel cycle route and the Preston to Penwortham ‘cycle superhighway’ which starts at the cyclops junction.
The junctions of Fishergate Hill with Bow Lane and Hartington Road would also be upgraded to provide pedestrian crossings, while new traffic signal technology along the route would co-ordinate timings to improve bus journeys.
Have your say
Further details of the plans can be found via this link on the Lancashire County Council website.
Residents are invited to fill in the survey here with their thoughts until 21st August.
Two drop-in events are also planned, where officials will be on hand to answer questions. They are on:
18th July, from 9am until 8pm at St Gerard’s Parochial Centre, Brownedge Road, Lostock Hall, PR5 5AA and
30th July from 9am until 8pm at Gujarat Hindu Society Temple Conference Centre, South Meadow Lane, Preston, PR1 8JN.
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