Following the removal of the Churchill Way flyovers and the planning approval for the bus hub, the city council has announced next steps in upgrading Lime Street. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool City Council has revealed new details of the next phase of its £47m Liverpool City Centre Connectivity scheme.

Following the removal of the Churchill Way flyovers and the planning approval for the Old Haymarket bus hub the city council has announced next steps in upgrading Lime Street.

After public feedback and a reappraisal the council is re-introducing a segregated cycle lane on Lime Street, which will also gain a new public square outside the train station and an expanded plateau outside the Grade I listed St George’s Hall.

Single carriageway

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, with 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.

Bus users are being advised that due to the timings of these works that changes to routes through Liverpool city centre will now come into effect later next year, rather than in January as originally planned. Once agreed, the revised date for route changes will be made available.

As a result of further traffic modelling and surveys, the city council has also agreed in principle with the city’s bus alliance that the 82 bus service from South Liverpool will be able to continue to use Hanover Street.

This decision is subject to the introduction of new bus priority measures such as bus gate or dedicated bus lane, which is currently being mapped out.

Bus hub

The bus hub on Old Haymarket will begin to come into use in January before becoming fully operational later in 2020. Its function will see Queen Square bus station became the focus for northbound bus routes and Liverpool One bus station for southbound bus routes, which will be underpinned by the Lime Street redesign.

The council claims the new hub and re-routed bus services will save more than 900,000 bus km and 2,000 tonnes of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere every year. The Lime Street designs also include the installation of a water feature at the southern end of the plateau, which lies within the city’s World Heritage site.

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.

Better Roads

The scheme has secured £40.1m from the Local Growth Fund with local match funding of £7m and is a major part of Liverpool City Council’s £500m Better Roads programme. Local Growth Funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Strategic Investment Fund.

Other LCCC phase 1 schemes include:

• Moorfields: Improving the footways to enhance the area and the entrance into Moorfields Station. Completed summer 2019.
• Victoria Street: This will include removal of bus layovers as well as tree planting and new public realm features, creating wider footways and options for street café’s. Completing in March 2020.
• Brownlow Hill: Creating a new cycle link with Lime Street, and improved public areas that create a place for enjoying and accessing the Knowledge Quarter. Completing in March 2020.
• Tithebarn Street: Includes creation of new cycleway to enhance links with Lime Street and the waterfront. Completing in June 2020.
• City Coach Park: On Riverside Drive – a dedicated facility with provision to accommodate 30 vehicles. Completing in April 2020.

The second phase will see a series of highways improvements along The Strand, with work scheduled to begin in spring 2020. A series of public consultation events on this element will be held in the new year.

Councillor Sharon Connor, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “For millions of people Lime Street is the gateway into Liverpool and we to provide them with a world class welcome.

“new public square outside Lime Street station and an expanded plateau at St George’s Hall will transform the experience of arriving in Liverpool and how people interact with arguably the UK’s greatest collection of iconic cultural venues.”