A £1m traffic shake-up of a major street has sparked anger, because it will see a pair of bus stops axed - to speed up bus journeys for other passengers.
Councillors have criticised Norfolk County Council's proposals for Newmarket Road - one of Norwich's busiest roads - because of the proposals to remove two bus stops.
Two bus stops in Norwich's Newmarket Road are facing the axe (Image: Dan Grimmer)
The project involves creating wider pavements and cycle lanes, including segregator wands to separate pedestrians from those on bicycles.
A new shared pedestrian and cycle push-button crossing would be built across Eaton Road, while a new Beryl bike bay would be installed.
But the proposals to take out an inbound and outbound bus stop near Christchurch Road and Lime Tree Road has provoked anger.
In an online survey, 30pc of people said they did not like that proposal, while 27pc said they did.
Judith Lubbock, Norwich city councillor for Eaton (Image: Archant)
Judith Lubbock, Liberal Democrat city councillor for Eaton, said: "I am amazed that this scheme to deal with improving road safety for pedestrians and cyclists takes the opportunity to deal this blow to bus users.
"The officers consulted the bus operators who said that not many passengers use these stops and by removing them it will make the journey time quicker for buses.
"I thought buses were meant to pick passengers up not dissuade them from using the bus."
She said the bus stops were close to bungalows in The Plantation, where older people live and the stops are also used by people from Eaton heading to the Mile End Road doctors surgery.
Mrs Lubbock said: "This is all bitterly disappointing when buses are so crucial to residents and to fighting climate change and congestion, offering an alternative to the car."
Council officers said the removal of the bus stops had the support of bus operators and would speed up journey times.
Officers said there were other stops within 500m inbound and 600m outbound.
And they said people wanting to go to the Mile End surgery could walk from the 42 bus stop near the Eaton Road / Leopold Road Junction - a shorter distance than from the bus stop being removed.
The project would be paid for using a slice of the £32m Transforming Cities cash awarded to the council.
The matter will be discussed when the Transport for Norwich advisory committee meets on Thursday (January 26) afternoon.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here