Longmoor Lane and Upper Parliament Street will be subject to experiment from January 2026
Longmoor Lane will be the subject of new bus lane(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Two new bus lanes into Liverpool city centre are to be introduced in the New Year on an experimental basis. New documents released by the city council have revealed plans were hatched in June to install bus-only lanes on two key routes into town in Fazakerley and L8.
Around £125,000 is to be spent getting the roads fit for purpose along Upper Parliament Street and Longmoor Lane in the north of the city. Last month, city officials signed off on the plans to introduce the new lanes as part of an experiment on their effectiveness with a view to being retained for the long-term.
Road markings and signage, carriageway resurfacing and new bus stops will be installed along each route, as well as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to police the lanes. A delegated executive decision report from September 26 said the scheme would be piloted for six months to understand the “acceptance by the public.”
Liverpool Council agreed at a transport and highways portfolio board meeting in June to establish the two lanes. The decision document said: “While we expect the works to implement the bus lanes to be on site in January and February 2026, this will be followed by a six-month objection period, and for the project to deliver research outputs, we will continue to monitor its effectiveness for at least 18 months post implementation.
“We will then use the outputs of this research study to inform our future approach to bus lane introduction across the city.” The return of bus lanes was confirmed back in September 2023 as part of a wider transport plan for the city, working in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA).
The design of the Upper Parliament Street and Longmoor Lane bus lanes is being undertaken internally. As a result, there is no need for a design tender.
Upper Parliament Street(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
No additional details have been released about the start and end points for the bus lanes at this stage. The document confirming the scheme would move ahead acknowledged how there would be some turbulence with their reintroduction.
It said: “General highway traffic will be delayed by the implementation of bus priority measures, including bus lanes. Mitigations: measures will be taken to minimise disruption during the construction period.”
However, not adopting the plan was rejected out of hand. It added: “This was discounted because it contradicted the current administration’s commitment in its manifesto to implement bus priority measures, including bus lanes, in the city.
“If this option were chosen, the benefits of reducing bus journey times, journey time reliability, decreasing operating costs, minimising wasted passenger time, increasing bus patronage, improving air quality, boosting confidence, and enhancing passenger safety would not be realised.”
Six months after the completion of the work, charges for violations of the proposed experimental traffic regulation order for the two bus lanes will begin.
During the first six months, there will be no income generated as it will serve as a grace period, during which the council is required to issue only a warning notice.