Plan revealed for new park and ride site to serve Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Plans are being considered for a new park and ride site in the west of Shrewsbury which could serve the town's hospital.
It comes as Shropshire Council is introducing park and ride services every 10 minutes at the Meole Brace site from Monday - rather than every 20 minutes at present.
The more frequent service was supposed to roll-out at the Harlescott site at the same time but it has been delayed.
The authority said that the additional buses needed will not be available until April 6.
Shrewsbury's third park and ride site - Oxon - is no longer included in the plans as the council is now considering proposals that would see it replaced in the near future with a new and improved site.
The new site will be on the west side of town, close to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, to benefit staff and patients.
Technology
Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We want to have the best possible park and ride service and are carefully considering what changes and improvements we need to make to the current service. Following last year’s successful trial I’m pleased that buses will run every 10 minutes at peak times.
“We now have exciting plans for an improved park and ride site and service on the west side of Shrewsbury that could serve the hospital, with the Oxon site likely to be replaced, and we hope to announce more details in the near future.
“We also hope to announce further positive changes to the park and ride service soon. As well as changes to the frequency of buses we’re also considering the use of new technology, possible route changes and, of course, the use of electric buses.”
The changes follow a review of how the park and ride service could operate in the future, with a series of further service improvements being planned or trialled to find out which of these should be adopted in the long-term, as part of the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan.
Three electric buses have been trialled on the park and ride service, with a fourth trial set to take to the streets from April 9-23, as the council hopes for the park and ride service to be entirely served by electric buses in the future.
