Swansea CC still has no plans to remove temporary pedestrian barriers from the 20mph Kingsway, a month after scrapping the controversial contraflow bus lane there.
From 2009, one carriageway hosted a bidirectional busway and the other was for general traffic, westbound only, but this year the local coroner recommended changes after two accidents in which pedestrians were fatally struck by eastbound buses.
After the second accident, the council erected portable fencing along the central reservation to channel pedestrians towards designated crossing points.
A coroner called for changes to Kingsway's former layout (pictured)
In early November the contraflow bus lane was replaced with a one-way cycle lane and a strip hatched off with paint.
A council spokesman told Transport Network: ‘We are continuing to monitor the recent changes that have been introduced along the Kingsway to assess how vehicles have adapted to the changes. This will include carrying out speed surveys. There are no immediate plans to remove the temporary barriers while this process is ongoing.’
There are no pedestrian barriers along some of Swansea’s other dual carriageways such as the A4067 Oystermouth Road, which has five or six lanes in places and a 30mph limit.
First Cymru operates most of the displaced bus services. It withdrew its articulated Metro buses ahead of the change.
Managing director Justin Davies said the diversions added two or three minutes to journey times and increased the pressure of traffic on High Street, but seemed to be working well.
He said he believed Kingsway vehicle speeds had increased because all traffic was now going in one direction.
