The proposals form part of the council's investment in sustainable transport, and the ongoing work to transform bus travel in Warrington, with faster, more reliable journeys.

Delivered through Warrington’s Bus Service Improvement (BSIP) programme, the scheme would see new bus priority measures and improvements to walking and cycling facilities introduced along the A50 Long Lane westbound (towards Junction Nine Retail Park) and the A49 Winwick Road in a southbound direction (towards the town centre).

The bus priority proposals consist of four short lengths of road that only buses can use (bus gates) which will make bus journeys quicker in this area.  The bus gates are proposed in the following locations:

• A50 Long Lane/A49 Winwick Road – a bus gate is proposed on the corner of the A50/A49 outside Warrington and Vale Royal College.  This will allow buses turning left onto the A49 to enter directly into the bus stop outside the college on the A49.
• A49 Winwick Road (near Tesco) – a set of signals and new road will be installed to allow buses to gain priority over queuing traffic to get to the bus stop.
• A49 Winwick Road/Lythgoes Lane – The Winwick Road arms of this junction will be remodelled to form two short lanes for buses to create a new southbound bus gate and quicker route to Warrington Bus Interchange.

The plans aim to enhance the bus user experience by reducing bus journey times and making services more reliable while minimising the impact on other forms of traffic.

Therefore, the number of existing lanes for cars would not change, with new carriageway to be built and existing road space remodelled. This means that motorists will not lose any lanes of traffic as part of the proposals and car journey times will remain approximately as they are now.

Walking and cycling facilities will be improved by creating and widening segregated walking and cycling paths where possible and providing two new toucan (walking and cycling) crossings - one outside Warrington and Vale Royal College on Long Lane and the other on Winwick Road, near the Halliwell Jones stadium.

Construction is expected to start in May 2024 and complete in December 2025. The construction would be phased to minimise disruption as much as possible and keep traffic flowing, while delivering the improvements in a quick and efficient manner.

The project will cost approximately £12.5 million to deliver, with the majority of funding (£10m) provided by the Department of Transport following a successful bid based on Warrington’s BSIP, and the remainder funded by the council.

The council has launched a four-week public consultation on the plans, and is seeking feedback from residents, motorists, bus users and business owners. You can have your say by completing the online survey

You can also get involved in the consultation, learn more about plans, ask questions, and share your thoughts by attending one of the public events at:

• Warrington & Vale Royal College – Wednesday 29 November, 4pm-7.30pm
• Golden Square – Saturday 2 December, 10am-2pm
• Warrington bus interchange – Wednesday 6 December, 3pm-6pm

The A49 bus priority consultation runs until Sunday 17 December. You can find out more about the plans by visiting warrington.gov.uk/a49-bus-service-improvement-plan-consultation