Devon County Council is planning more bus priority schemes in Exeter’s arterial roads following changes made in Cowick Street, Heavitree Road, Pinhoe Road and New North Road.
The Department for Transport has allocated £10.5 million to deliver bus service improvement schemes in Devon during 2025-26, with further funding expected to follow in future years.
In Exeter, the county council is planning new schemes in Alphington Road, Barrack Road, Cowley Bridge Road, Honiton Road, Topsham Road and at the Exe Bridges gyratory.
The schemes are part of the Devon Bus Service Improvement Plan which includes incremental changes intended to improve journey times on six key transport routes in Exeter.
It calls these the Northern, Eastern, Central, Hospital, Southern and Western corridors.
Exeter bus corridors. Image: Devon County Council.
Devon County Council has already approved three schemes along these routes.
It reversed its previous closure of New North Road to two-way motor traffic to convert a short stretch of cycle lane alongside John Lewis into a bus and cycle lane last July.
It is expected to complete a revised scheme in Heavitree Road and Honiton Road, which includes changes to traffic signals to give buses priority and improvements to bus stops, and another in Cowick Street by the end of March.
The county council’s proposals in both corridors were met with significant public opposition.
Its proposals for bus lane operation time changes in Heavitree Fore Street, Honiton Road and Pinhoe Road were significantly altered after a three and a half hour debate at County Hall in November which left parts of the scheme still undecided.
A petition started by Heavitree traders Association gathered 653 signatories against the changes, while 311 people signed another in support.
Its Cowick Street scheme initially included proposals to extend bus lane operation times and vary loading bay restrictions beside local businesses. A petition opposing the changes gathered 501 signatures and a second public consultation on its plans produced 258 objections.
Devon County Council’s Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee rejected both these aspects of the scheme last July leaving only minor changes intact, including CCTV monitoring of junctions.
Devon County Council has yet to finalise details of the new schemes it has planned in Exeter but said it expects them to include similar measures to those it proposed for the schemes it has already approved.
This would mean new bus priority lanes, or extensions to existing lanes, bus shelters including real-time information displays and CCTV traffic monitoring.
It has not said where in Alphington Road, Barrack Road, Cowley Bridge Road, Honiton Road, Topsham Road or which part of the Exe Bridges gyratory would be affected, but is expected to submit detailed plans for the changes to the Department for Transport shortly.
Devon County Council’s Cabinet will receive a report on the changes next month but says it does not intend to hold a public consultation on its proposals.
