Bus lanes on Washwood Heath Road in 2024

[Stu]

Sorry to any folks who use Washwood Heath Road bus services, but expect some major disruption while these works are carried out!


Disruption warning as work to install bus lanes on Washwood Heath Road to begin in early 2024

Work is due to begin on installing bus lanes along one of the busiest and most ticketed roads in Birmingham. Dedicated lanes will be implemented on Washwood Heath Road in a bid to improve journey times and reliability of the 94, 95 and 14 services.

An exact date has not been given but work is expected to kick off within weeks and will be completed ahead of other work involving Aston Church Road at the end of March. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said. Residents, businesses, and commuters in the Washwood Heath Road area were urged to plan ahead.

The Washwood Heath bus lane is one of a wider range of cross-city bus route improvements being planned in an attempt to improve connections and help link communities across Birmingham city centre and the suburbs. It is hoped the installation of bus lanes, adjustments to junctions, traffic signals, parking, and bus stops, will enable buses to bypass traffic jams.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/disruption-warning-work-install-bus-28323202


It will be interesting to see if these bus lanes will actually be enforced though, or if they even make a difference.

[cardew]

Here is the same story on the WMCA news page for those who can't face the Reach advert onslaught

https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/birmingham-cross-city-bus-lanes-fast-tracked-due-to-road-closure/

As an aside the article also mentions that the bus lane and priority measures on Alcester Road have been completed. Not true unless the changes at Maypole and Kings Heath have been quietly dropped.

[Gareth]

Sorry to any folks who use Washwood Heath Road bus services, but expect some major disruption while these works are carried out.


It will be interesting to see if these bus lanes will actually be enforced though, or if they even make a difference.

I'm not too worried. You can't get much more disrupted than the current 4 buses at a time and a half hour wait for the next.

[2206]

I'm not too worried. You can't get much more disrupted than the current 4 buses at a time and a half hour wait for the next.

Some days it can be more reliable than others. Yesterday there were gaps/delays in service, roadworks on Coleshill Road/Hunters Moon area I believe.

Will be interesting what the plans are for the Sladefield Road junction area in Ward End, where you have parking on both sides, narrow road, vans unloading for the shops sometimes can block the road in 1 direction and slow moving normally. Wonder how they'll make space for the bus lane. And also at Drews Lane, Aston Church Road lights.

The through cross city service, if it actually ever happens, will we have buses getting stuck in Harborne as well affecting this side of the city and vice versa.

[Mike K]

I'm not too worried. You can't get much more disrupted than the current 4 buses at a time and a half hour wait for the next.

Don't worry, reliability will improve when they're extended across the city to Harborne and Bartley Green, where the buses always run on time. Not 😂

[Stu]

As an aside the article also mentions that the bus lane and priority measures on Alcester Road have been completed. Not true unless the changes at Maypole and Kings Heath have been quietly dropped.

It's probably just 'generalising'.

Alcester Road is the A435 from the junction of Brighton Road (Balsall Heath) to the junction of Valentine Road (Kings Heath). That stretch of road already has bus lanes and has done for several years, and I'm not aware of any additional work that has taken place there, I certainly didn't see anything 'new' on a recent trip on the 50.

There were some works on Moseley Road, which has seen a new bus-only left hand turn at the end of Haden Way marked out, but to be honest I don't think this will make a huge difference to journey times while you still have queueing traffic there.

(There were still vehicles parked up in the existing bus lane from Lime Grove down to Brighton Road!)