Bus gate update in Thorpe Road in Norwich faces backlash

Motorists have been regularly ignoring signs restricting all vehicles apart from buses driving down a lane at the junction with Lower Clarence Road in Thorpe Road.

But Norfolk County Council has recently repainted the bus gate to make it more obvious, outraging drivers who are only now realising it is a restricted route.

The bus gate recently underwent work to make it clearer for drivers (Image: Newsquest) The road has been painted red, with several signs erected in the area warning drivers not to continue. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras will also be installed soon.

Brundall man Les Anderson, 72, was outraged to discover recently that the road was a bus-only route, with the previous signs not clear enough.

He said: "What is the point of the bus gate in the first place?

"All it appears to do is prevent vehicles from reaching the junction of Riverside Road and turn left towards the station or continue into Prince of Wales Road and into Rose Lane to car parks and Castle Mall.

"Now drivers have to go via Carrow Road, Canary Way, Koblenz Avenue, Riverside Road and then turn left over the bridge.

Les Anderson, 72 (Image: Les Anderson) "This route adds at least 15 minutes or more to a journey as these roads are already very busy.

"This adds more pollution as vehicles idling in traffic are much worse than one that is moving."

Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport for Norfolk County Council, confirmed that the bus gate has been in operation for more than two years, with the recent work undertaken to more clearly define the restricted road.

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure (Image: Norfolk County Council) He said: "The Thorpe Road bus gate was introduced in summer 2022 to improve bus journey times for the 300 buses a day using this key route into the city centre.

READ MORE: Is this the city's most monitored road?

"This change alone has seen time savings of between three to eight minutes on bus journeys into the city and forms part of our wider strategy to increase the use of public transport and support the county’s net zero ambitions.

The road will also have cameras installed shortly to catch the drivers still using it (Image: Newsquest) "Further measures were introduced in September 2024 to improve compliance with the restriction and ANPR cameras will shortly be installed to ensure the bus gate continues to operate effectively.

"Thanks to works like this being delivered as part of our bus service improvement plan, we've seen a 16pc year-on-year increase in passengers, bucking the national trend, and reducing congestion on our roads."