Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) scheme aims to reduce congestion is about to implement major changes to Lime Street and The Strand. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool City Council is hosting a three-day public information roadshow next week on its £47m transformation of the city centre road network.
The council’s Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) scheme aims to reduce congestion and improve air quality and is on the brink of instigating major changes to key landmark roads – Lime Street and The Strand.
And on January 20, 21 and 22, members of the public will be able to attend the roadshow, which takes places at a different location on each of the three days, to find out more about the impact of the projects.
At Lime Street, the council is to create a segregated cycle lane and create a new public square outside the train station as well as an expanded plateau outside the Grade I listed St George’s Hall. A water feature will also be created at the southern end of the plateau, which lies within the city’s World Heritage site.
To begin in May 2020, Lime Street will be reduced into a single carriageway in each direction, with the southbound lane able to access St Johns Shopping centre car park. South of Lime Street station will be a single lane only.
Northbound traffic, including buses, no longer able to travel past the old ABC Cinema and Holiday Inn hotel and will instead need to take a left or right at the Adelphi Hotel junction.
To offset the closure of Lime Street for north bound bus services, a ‘busgate’ will be introduced on Hanover Street, allowing only buses (and taxis) during the day to access Liverpool One bus station. The new bus timetable, to come into effect in April, will also contain a new city centre circular service.
Works to The Strand are also scheduled to begin in May with the principle aim of making the major thoroughfare a safer highway, following four fatalities in the past two years.
The scheme has also been designed to make the city’s waterfront, with its docks, museums, venues and cruise terminal, more accessible for pedestrians. It will see the removal of a traffic lane and the closure of traffic junctions at Water Street and Mann Island with Goree.
A segregated cycle lane will also be introduced to connect the south of Liverpool to the north, allowing cyclists to ride the full length of the Mersey from Otterspool to Southport. To keep traffic moving along the route, it is proposed that ‘no waiting at any time’ and ‘no loading at any time’ be introduced throughout and around the junctions with adjoining roads.
Based on computer modelling, the council claims estimated car journeys at peak times along The Strand will be reduced by more than a minute in both directions.
The LCCC public information roadshow, which will feature videos and detailed information boards, will be held from 10am to 6.30pm on:
- Monday, January 20, at RIBA NW, Mann Island.
- Tuesday, January 21, at the Aloft Hotel, North John Street.
- Wednesday, January 22, at the Holiday Inn, Lime Street.
As part of the LCCC scheme, the new bus hub on Old Haymarket will begin to come into use in February before becoming fully operational when the new timetable begins in April. Its function will see Queen Square bus station became the focus for northbound bus routes and Liverpool One bus station for southbound bus routes.
The Lime Street revamp will also see a widened, boulevard style pavement running the entire length up to the Adelphi Hotel, which sits within the newly branded Upper Central gateway to the city’s Knowledge Quarter.
Cllr Sharon Connor, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “Redesigning how we all use Lime Street and The Strand is critical to making Liverpool city centre fit for the future – safer, cleaner and greener for everyone to enjoy.
“The city has declared a climate change emergency and is working on a clean air plan, so being smarter with how we use our major roads is going to make a massive contribution in reducing congestion and therefore the city’s carbon footprint and air quality.”