Portsmouth City Centre

Upgrading bus travel

a blue bus

Upgrading bus travel

Portsmouth is the economic centre of the South East Hampshire region attracting people for work and leisure from Gosport, Fareham, Havant, Waterlooville and the Isle of Wight. But our roads are reaching capacity, and this is having a negative impact on productivity, economic growth and air quality.

The region’s geography means that there is a limit to what we can do to improve the road network, so we need another solution. And this is where the Bus Service Improvement Plan and the South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Scheme come in.

All of this work has been carried out with future plans for the city centre in mind, which will be built around the improvements made.

Charlotte Street bus gate

Marketway improvements

The South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Scheme has introduced a new bus-only access corridor. This stops buses getting caught in, and adding to, congestion in the city centre, particularly along Marketway.

Improvements included introducing a bus gate on the new road linking between Cascades Approach and Unicorn Road. Buses travelling out of the city centre are now routed through a new bus gate between Charlotte Street and Commercial Road North, east of Eden Street.

We’ve installed a new tiger crossing to the south of Unicorn Road to allow people on foot and on bicycles to cross safely at the same time, along with a new shared footway for cyclists and pedestrians between Cascades Approach and Unicorn Road. The area has been landscaped to make it greener and more pleasant.

Find out more
City centre south junction from above

Station Square improvements

We have improved the area for pedestrians and cyclists as part of the South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Scheme. Surrounding footpaths have also been improved to link with the Fratton to Portsmouth Guildhall walking route.

We’ve widened the road layout on Isambard Brunel Road to allow a two-way traffic flow, which will help to reduce congestion. A new controlled pedestrian crossing on Isambard Brunel Road near Guildhall Square has been installed which will help to make this area safer for pedestrians to cross.

We’ve replaced the mini roundabout with a traffic light junction. This includes controlled pedestrian crossings and which has helped to make this area safer for people to cross on foot.

Find out more