CONNECTING SOUTHAMPTON

We want to create a more attractive and safer Portswood. The proposals include significant bus priority upgrades, improved facilities for cycling and walking and reducing the amount of  traffic through Portswood. This will result in a greener, more pleasant environment for everyone living, working, studying and spending time in Portswood.    

With all its shops and cafes, this area has a high amount of footfall and reducing through traffic at this point will have a considerable benefit for users of Portswood. It will allow us to improve public space, increase the use of sustainable travel to and within the area, improve air quality, increase road safety and creating better connections into and out of Southampton City Centre.    

This funding for this project comes from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund. In March 2020, Southampton City Council, in partnership with Hampshire County Council, was awarded £57M to deliver an ambitious package of transport improvements. Full details of the bid can be found here and an overview of the schemes here.   

Yes, you will. Access will be maintained to the Council car park on Westridge Road, as well as to other car parks including those at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

Within the trial, we are proposing several new planters on and around the Broadway. The introduction of bee-friendly bus stops will also help improve biodiversity. The aim is to make this a more pleasant space to shop, enjoy and meet people.  

The existing disabled parking bays (approx. 17m in length) north-west of its junction with Westridge Road will be replaced with double yellow lines. Outside of bus gate hours, blue badge holders could still park in this area as blue badge holders are permitted to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours.

New disabled parking bays will be introduced opposite the Westridge Road junction. These will replace approx. 22m length of existing parking bay (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm 30min limit).

The bus gate and ATZs will both be introduced on a trial basis for a minimum of 6 months to assess the potential impact.

At the end of the trial period, a decision will be made by the Council on how to proceed; this could mean making the bus gate permanent, amending the scheme and extending the trial period, or removing the scheme. Any decision will be made taking into account to what extent the project achieves its objectives, as measured by an independent consultant, and considering recommendations of the Portswood Project Steering Group.

In the first round of consultation, many people raised the concern about additional traffic using local roads to get through the area, should a bus gate be introduced.

As part of a package of mitigation, Active Travel Zones (ATZs) in the Highfield area to the north-west and in Portswood south of the Broadway were proposed.

ATZs are neighbourhoods that encourage active travel through a range of measures which calm or discourage traffic, reduce rat running and instead prioritise people walking, wheeling and cycling while at the same time maintaining motor vehicle access for those who live there. Interventions for ATZs are scalable and could include measures such as speed cushions, improved crossing points or traffic filters.

Residents were invited to attend workshops to co-design measures for the ATZ. The main area of focus for these workshops was Brookvale Road, Abbotts Way, Russell Place, Westridge Road and Belmont Road.

People who choose to cycle will still be allowed to cycle along the Broadway at all times as they currently do. We will also be providing additional cycle parking on the Broadway, a new contraflow cycle lane on St Denys Road spur, and cycle bypasses at the buildouts in the ATZ.

This money has been awarded to Southampton City Council from the Department for Transport to improve our public transport service, walking and cycling areas around Portswood. 

We would like to invite you to two drop-in sessions which will be held at the corner of Portswood Road and St Denys Road weather permitting on Wednesday 6th September (4-7pm) and Monday 11th September (4-7pm) where you will be able to ask questions and get any clarifications on the proposals.   

 Should you have any further questions you do not feel are covered on these pages, please email us at Portswoodcorridor@southampton.gov.uk  

To develop the Portswood Project the Council has undertaken extensive public consultation including:

• 2020: online perception survey
• 2021: on-street customer survey
• 2022: phase 1 public consultation online and in-person
• 2023:
  • Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee
  • Phase 2 public consultation online and in-person
  • “Meet the Leader” event for businesses
  • Accessibility Forum
  • Business engagement forum
• 2024:
  • Cabinet
  • Steering Group meetings
  • ATZ co-design workshops
  • TRO consultation

For more details visit our consultation page.

A local travel hub has travel options located close to one another that are designed for user convenience and to encourage more sustainable travel choices.  

Options for local travel hubs in Southampton are currently being investigated. Features could include cycle parking, cycle hire, a bike maintenance hub, electric vehicle charging points, electric vehicle hire, disabled parking, public green space and a micro freight hub to support local deliveries. E-scooter hire is also an option as part of local trials.

Transforming Cities Fund money has been allocated to improve our public transport service, walking and cycling areas around Portswood. As part of the works, some resurfacing will be carried out on the Broadway.

The bus gate and ATZs will both be introduced on a trial basis for a minimum of 6 months to assess the potential impact. At the end of the trial period, a decision will be made by the Council on how to proceed; this could mean making the bus gate permanent, amending the scheme and extending the trial period, or removing the scheme. If budget is available, additional resurfacing could be considered as part of any permanent scheme.

Only hire E-scooters are legal to use. They will need to be used on the road or cycle lanes.  

We are trialling an e-scooter hiring system across the city and many people have raised concerns about people riding on the footway or other unsociable use.  Should you see an incident you can report it here (Voi Scooters - Report a Voi) which will then be investigated.  The Council has been working with Voi to undertake on site enforcement in the Portswood Broadway area to issue warnings / riding bans for pavement riding.  

The bus/taxi/cycle-only section of Portswood Road will be operational Monday to Saturday between the hours of 7:00am-10:00am and 4:00pm-7:00pm. During the trial, access will be maintained northbound through the bus gate for large vehicles over 7.5t, with a new loading bay on St Denys Road spur. Emergency service vehicles will be exempt from these restrictions.

If camera enforcement is deemed necessary, this is expected to start approximately 2 weeks after bus gate signage is displayed.

For an initial period, drivers that contravene the restriction will receive a Warning Notice, and on their second contravention, they will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) of £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days).

Warning Letters and PCNs will be sent through the post. To allow enough time between a Warning Notice being processed and received by the driver, there will be approximately two weeks after a Warning Notice is activated before a PCN is issued.

All money received from Penalty Charge Notices will be used to pay for the upkeep and running of the camera system and any surplus funds are reinvested into Southampton’s transport network as set out in national legislation.

Only authorised vehicles are allowed, these include:

• Buses
• Taxis (Taxis that are not locally licenced by Southampton City Council cannot use the bus gate - 09:30 - 10:00 and 18:30 - 19:00).
• Cyclists, E-scooters and E-bikes (not motorcycles/mopeds)
• Emergency vehicles
• Any other service vehicle, carrying out a statutory duty e.g. gritting, refuse collection, that cannot use another route for their purpose and require constant use of the vehicle.

Yes, all private hire vehicles registered in Southampton are allowed in the bus/taxi/cycle only section.

The bus gate and ATZs will both be introduced on a trial basis for a minimum of 6 months to assess the potential impact.

At the end of the trial period, a decision will be made by the Council on how to proceed; this could mean making the bus gate permanent, amending the scheme and extending the trial period, or removing the scheme. Any decision will be made taking into account to what extent the project achieves its objectives, as measured by an independent consultant, and considering recommendations of the Portswood Project Steering Group

Portswood District Centre, car parks and surrounding residential streets are still accessible by car, but you will not be able to drive via Portswood Road between Westridge Road and St Denys Road spur during bus gate hours.

If you are not visiting Portswood District Centre or the surrounding residential streets, A335 Thomas Lewis Way provides a parallel route north-south. In 2023 works were completed on Thomas Lewis Way to increase its capacity and reduce congestion.

The map below shows the new restrictions, and access routes by car for the wider area.

Click here to open in a new window

As part of the trial, the level of achievement of each of the following objectives for the Portswood Project will be measured:

1. To regenerate and make Portswood District Centre a more attractive, accessible, vibrant and competitive economic destination so people spend more time and money here; 
2. To improve the air quality, environment and biodiversity; 
3. To provide more space for people walking and wheeling with improved connectivity and road safety; 
4. To improve the choices of transport modes for people to use; 
5. To improve bus reliability and journey times and create better bus stops; 
6. To enhance quality of life for all who live, work or shop in the area;
7. To reduce the amount of through route traffic on local roads;
8. To reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

These will be assessed by an independent consultant in 3-month and 6-month reports. A series of different data including traffic and movement, economic, community and contextual data will be collected at key points before and during the trial, and after the trial should the scheme be made permanent. A baseline report has already been produced which provides the pre-trial data. The report is available to view here.

During the trial, a monthly interim assessment will be undertaken utilising readily available traffic data to understand the impacts of the Portswood Project. A summary will be made available to the public on the project website.