West Sussex County Council has revealed details of its transport innovation fund bid for a ‘coastal expressway’ bus service, linking congested seaside towns and a cordon-charge for the Chichester county seat.
The council plans to stake a claim for a share of the TIF pot in the second bidding round, jointly with the ~Highways Agency~ for a three-phase scheme focusing on the coastal area. It consists of a ‘high-frequency, hi-tech’ coastal bus service linking Brighton and Hove, Chichester and Portsmouth, an upgrade of a section of the A27 coastal route, and examination of the introduction of a cordon charge in Chichester.
Colonel Tex Pemberton, cabinet member for highways and transport, stressed any investigation would assess the effect and potential benefits of a road-pricing scheme. Plans start with Chichester, because this is where proposals for upgrading the A27 are at the most advanced stage, with a plan to shut 28 central reservation gaps, while building three new junctions. The county has also been pushing for the A27 to be improved inland at Arundel, but a public consultation has not yet been held, and at Worthing, where roads minister, Stephen Ladyman has cast doubt on whether there is ‘a workable solution’.
Pemberton said: ‘There are no pre-conceived ideas about what any such scheme would look like, and so we would start investigations with a blank sheet of paper. We do see improvement of the A27 trunk road, and other upgrades of our road network along the coast, and elsewhere, as being important to meeting our sustainability objectives.’ Earlier this week, Pemberton had expressed ‘bitter disappointment’ on the response of Ladyman to a March meeting on ~Highways Agency~ investigations into the possibility of improvements for the A27 at Chichester. A public consultation on proposals ended in February 2005, but a report would not be with the minister until autumn later this year.
Key features of the ‘coastal expressway’ service are likely to include bus-priority measures at key junctions and traffic lights, as well as electronic timetables for passengers. The plan would build on the quality bus partnership agreement recently signed with bus operator Stagecoach and the three local authorities between Portsmouth and Brighton.
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