A council chief has defended a £300,000 scheme to revamp a key city bus route amid questions locally about the plans.
The proposed scheme would see the junction of Angel Road and Waterloo Road in NR3 reconfigured by removing an existing central island and realigning the carriageway with changes to the kerb line.
This would switch the priority to favour buses travelling in Angel Road, moving the give-way junction to Waterloo Road to allow Angel Road to flow through.
It is claimed this would increase bus reliability and journey times, according to officials, who also claim safety conditions for cyclists would be improved.
But Green councillors for the Sewell ward Gary Champion and Alex Catt have raised concerns about such drastic changes to a busy city junction, as well as its cost and timing.
Gary Champion, the shadow cabinet member for communities at City Hall, said: "We welcome long-overdue measures to improve the reliability of our bus services but it is a shame that these proposals come at a cost - especially with regards to cycling, pedestrian safety, and accessibility.
"Many residents who have contacted us are concerned about the removal of the island at the junction and the lack of any pedestrian crossing on Angel Road, particularly as it is close to a school."
Alex Catt, deputy leader of the city council Green group, added: "Residents in the area already report to us concerns about speeding and unsafe driving on these roads.
"With the removal of the island, the lack of any pedestrian crossings, and the lack of speed enforcement, we mirror concerns that these changes could make speeding worse, especially as this is an area with lots of school children.
"Residents on roads such as Eade Road, Patteson Road and Buxton Road have seen endless issues of rat-running and aggressive behaviour from drivers, and speeding between Angel/ Waterloo Road and Aylsham Road."
"This would be a perfect opportunity for the county council to engage with residents' calls for a one-way system or other measures on these roads, as they are disappointed that these issues have never been addressed.
"We hope that the county council will actively listen to residents and local councillors to improve our transport infrastructure."
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Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport at the Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council, defended the proposal though - which would come as part of a £50m funding package from the Department of Transport.
He said: "We know that people in Norwich want a better bus service, this scheme will improve bus journey times along Angel Road, reducing delays and delivering better punctuality and reliability for passengers.
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"We have seen this approach work in other areas of the city with journey times reduced by up to a third on key routes, and this is exactly the sort of improvement that we have promised to deliver as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
"More and more people are choosing the bus with the number of fare-paying passengers now exceeding pre-Covid levels.
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"We hope that with improvements to bus infrastructure like this, along with the introduction of zero-emission buses for the city and the continuation of the £2 fare cap, even more people will leave the car at home and choose the bus for their everyday journeys into Norwich."
The plans, which prompted a raft of social media criticism, were announced following Mr Plant defying calls for him to resign from a Green councillor at a county council cabinet meeting last month.
He had come in for criticism recently over decisions such as re-opening Norwich's Exchange Street to traffic and scrapping a committee which met in public to discuss city traffic projects.
However, Julie Brociek-Coulton, Labour county councillor for the Sewell ward, last week showed support for the Angel Road project.
She said: "The point of the project is to get bus times quicker into the city and with the 25 new electric buses hopefully this will help."
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