Lorries and taxis get go ahead to use high occupancy lane

15 April 2009

A controversial high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane along the Avon ring road is to be opened up to lorries and driver-only taxis for the first time.

South Gloucestershire Council has announced a raft of changes to the HOV lane along the A4174, in order to increase the capacity of the road and reduce congestion.

The changes will see the HOV lane’s hours of operation reduced by half-an-hour to start at 7.30am instead of from 7am. An experimental extension of the lane – also known as the 2+ lane – will also be removed.

Cllr Brian Allinson, cabinet member for planning and transport, said: ‘By allowing lorries to use the 2+ lane, we will be able to provide a priority route to the M32 junction.

‘This should reduce pollution as heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) won’t be sitting in stationary or slow-moving traffic, which is a common feature of the general purpose lane. In addition, enabling HGVs to use the 2+ lane might incentivise the use of the A4174 over other cross country routes.’ He said he intended to fund a study into the implications of installing a weight limit along the unclassified Westerleigh Road to prevent rural HGV traffic.

‘But we need to be careful that we don’t simply divert HGVs along other rural routes instead, so this study will examine the advantages and disadvantages of a weight limit at this location.’

Introduced in 1998, the HOV lane has faced criticism for penalising those who cannot car share, and for promoting rat-running.

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