It could soon be far easier for people to walk back and forth to the city centre from the Sandfields community.
Swansea Council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve a highway improvement scheme at West Way’s junction with Wellington Street that will provide better pedestrian crossings.
The new layout being proposed close to the City Bus Station would also help improve bus movements and general traffic flows on West Way by reducing the amount of traffic light phasing. Landscaping work will also introduce more greenery in the area as part of the project.
The scheme includes the introduction of a landscaped traffic island to separate north and southbound traffic adjacent to the bus station. This will enable easy access for buses entering and leaving the bus station.
Following First Cymru’s decision to withdraw the ftr Metro service, this new layout is a solution for switching buses into general lanes.
The scheme, if approved, would be funded by the Welsh Government’s Vibrant and Viable Places Swansea City Centre regeneration programme that was awarded in June, 2014. Construction of the new scheme is expected to last from the spring to the autumn of 2016.
Vibrant and Viable Places (VVP) is a three-year programme (2014-2017) through which Swansea Council has been awarded £8.53 million to target key regeneration projects in the city centre.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Development, Enterprise and Regeneration, said: “The new layout proposed is important for a number of reasons. Not only would it lead to better crossing facilities on West Way, but it will also help introduce more greenery, which is a key part of our plans to regenerate the city centre.”
Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “We need a permanent solution for switching buses into general lanes after the removal of the ftr Metro service. If approved, this new layout would help us reach that objective while also improving traffic flows on West Way and making the road network in the area more robust and flexible.”
A wider footway towards the waterfront could also be introduced on the redundant northbound ftr Metro track between Wellington Street and Oystermouth Road in future.
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