The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has approved funding for Bradford Council to develop a full business case, which is the final stage in the approvals process, for phase one of the South Bradford Park and Ride scheme.
Phase one will include bus priority measures along Manchester Road, along with initial active travel enhancements at Senior Way. If further funding is secured, phase two will include a new cycle route between the former Richard Dunn Sports Centre site and the city centre and development of the Park & Ride facility.
The bus improvements are being delivered through the Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund programme, which is aimed at making it easier to walk, cycle and use public transport. This funding is exclusively allocated to the development of high-quality sustainable transport infrastructure. The funding is already supporting the city centre pedestrianisation works and the construction of a cycle superhighway running along Sunbridge Road and Thornton Road.
A public consultation was held in November 2023 to gather feedback on revised proposals for a Park & Ride scheme, aimed at reducing congestion and offering practical alternatives to driving into the city centre. The proposed improvements included enhancing public transport, upgrading cycling infrastructure, and providing a Park & Ride facility on the outskirts of the city to further support the success of the city centre pedestrianisation.
The feedback from this consultation favoured the bus priority aspect of the scheme, which involves improving bus priority at traffic signals and creating new bus lanes on Manchester Road (the A641), operational during peak times, and giving buses priority at key junctions to make journeys more reliable.
Since the scheme was first proposed in 2020, the construction industry has faced rising material and labour costs, making delivery of the cycle route and a Park and Ride facility undeliverable within the current budget allocation. As a result, Bradford Council have decided to move forward with the bus priority improvements while continuing to seek funding for the rest of the scheme.
Councillor Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said: “Manchester Road is a vital route in and out of Bradford city centre used by over 37,000 vehicles daily. It’s essential we move forward with any scheme which improves this route.
“As we near the completion of the city centre pedestrianisation works, it’s key that we continue to invest in active travel routes to connect to it, to progress our goal of creating a modern, connected, and sustainable transport network for the Bradford district.”
Councillor Peter Carlill, Deputy Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “This is an important step forward as we aim to improve public transport and make it easier to get from A to B in Bradford.
“It will help us continue our work to create a greener, better-connected region that works for everyone.”
Another round of public consultation will be held in the coming months to give residents an opportunity to provide input before the detailed designs are finalised.
