BUS LANES are again being given the go-ahead for a town, just weeks after the proposals were jettisoned.
Dedicated priority routes and bus-biased traffic lights are not only back on track for two of Middlesbrough's busiest arterial routes - Acklam and Marton Roads - but special measures are to be introduced to deal with motorists who park in bus lanes in the town.
Under a "rapid reaction" plan, drivers who park in bus lanes will be fined. The council said those same drivers are contributing to congestion.
When he announced a decision to drop a proposal for bus lanes on Marton and Acklam Roads, two months ago, council leader Councillor Ken Walker claimed: "On the evidence available so far in Middlesbrough, we do not believe that bus lanes have delivered the kind of improvements which would justify extending them further at this stage."
That followed fierce local opposition to the introduction of bus lanes, but his announcement brought in its wake speculation that the council could be obliged to repay Government funding if it did not go ahead with the scheme.
The lanes are now back on the agenda as part of a £2.1m package of measures to make Acklam and Marton Roads safer and less congested.
A council spokesman said: "It is not a U-turn; we remain open to options. We are a council who go with what works. Clearly, there are areas where bus routes have an impact and areas where they do not."
Other proposals include signal controlled junctions, cycle lanes, pelican crossings and refuges, and speed reductions.
About 2,500 vehicles use Acklam Road at its daily peaks, and 2,000 use Marton Road. There have been 197 accidents on Marton Road in the past five years and 62 on Acklam Road in the past three.
The council's commissioner for the environment,Coun Ken Hall, said: "We're able to do this work thanks to an excellent local transport plan settlement which allows us to invest £3.4m in transport infrastructure.
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