First Bus have released a new timetable for the 29 bus service, which runs between the Leeds Beckett Headingley Campus and the Student Village. It will come into use on Monday 18 September.
The new service runs every 30 minutes during the day and hourly in the evening, and all buses go along Headingley Lane.
First Bus have now completed the consultation which they undertook earlier this year, and have proposed some changes to their bus services. The main ones relevant to Headingley are:
Service 1 Beeston to Holt Park – extra buses during University term times to run every 8 minutes during the day.
Service 6 City Centre to Holt Park – extra buses; retimed journeys to reduce waiting times; more early evening buses.
Service 28 Adel to City Centre and Liberty Dock – timetable improvements and one extra bus in the early evening.
Service 29 Leeds Beckett’s University Headingley Campus to Student Village – a new timetable, with all services running along Headingley Lane.
Service 97 Guiseley to Leeds via Yeadon, West Park and Headingley – revised timetable and changes to driver duties to reduce cancellations.
The changes aren’t major, but they should add up to a better service overall. You can see fuller details on the First Bus website.
The Liberal Democrats have accused Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of a “betrayal of the North,” after he wrote in the Yorkshire Post that it was not up to central government to advance Crossrail in Northern England. Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Jenny Randerson pointed out that the Tory government have dropped pledges to electrify rail routes in Wales, the Midlands and the North, while supporting the £30 billion Crossrail 2 scheme for London. This is unbalanced and unfair, and completely undermines the huge potential which the North of England has to offer.
In March, First Bus Leeds ran a consultation about their bus services through Headingley and Hyde Park, including the 1, 6, 19/19A, 28, 29, 56, 97 and X84. Their drop-in event at the Heart Centre in Headingley was hugely popular, and gathered large numbers of responses.
They have now drawn up proposals based on the consultation, and are lanching a second round of public consultation to get feedback on what they are proposing. As before, you can view the proposals and give feedback on their website, or you can attend one of their drop-in events. This time, the Headingley event will be at the Heart Centre on Bennett Road on Tuesday 4th July, from 16.00 to 19.00 pm.
If you can’t make the Headingley event, you can see details of the other sessions on the First Bus website, or in the image below:
It’s the Leeds half marathon this coming Sunday! Best of luck to everyone who will be running in the event.
There will be some road closures, though, which will affect travel in Leeds on Sunday. We’ve shared the route map below, and you can see further details of specific road closures here.
The route circles Headingley and Hyde Park, so there are no road closures within our area, but you may be affected by them if you are travelling elsewhere. Note in particular that Meanwood Road and Stonegate Road will be closed in the morning until about 11:30am, and a short section of the Otley Road on the approach to the Weetwood roundabout will be closed until 12:15.
A resident recently contacted us to report serious congestion problems caused by cars parking on both sides of Moorland Road, close to the University. Penny Goodman went along to investigate, and quickly saw the problem. Parts of the road have recently been resurfaced, obliterating the double yellow lines and other road markings. People are now taking advantage of this by parking on the new unmarked surfaces – despite signs saying that no parking is allowed at any time. The parked cars are then blocking the flow of traffic along the road.
After checking out the problem, Penny wrote to the council highways department to ask whether the road markings are due to be repainted. The reply was that they are, but not until next month after the whole road surface has been sealed with a layer of bituminous emulsion and chippings.
It is good news that the markings will eventually be replaced, but the long wait means that traffic problems are going to persist for at least another month, causing transport misery every day. Penny suggested that in situations like this, the highways department should consider painting temporary double yellow lines onto the road surface, for example with a spray-can, until the job is finished and proper ones can be restored. This would be quick, cheap and save weeks of serious traffic problems.
First Bus Leeds are undertaking a review of their services through Headingley, including the 1, 6, 19/19A, 28, 29, 56, 97 and X84. They have stated that they recognise the need for improvements to the reliability and punctuality of these services, particularly given the impact of congestion through Headingley. The outcomes of the review might include changes to the bus routes or frequencies.
They are collecting views on the services via an online survey and at local drop-in events. The Headingley drop-in is at the Heart Centre on Bennett Road, Tuesday 21st March, 16:00-18:30. But if you can’t make that event, there is a list of other nearby times and venues on their website.
Headingley campaigner Penny Goodman said:
I am pleased to see this consultation going ahead, as I know many people locally are frustrated with the current state of the bus services. I would urge all local residents to fill in the survey or attend a drop-in event, to make sure that First Bus really understand what we want from our public transport.
Just as the current road-works on Headingley Lane are due to finish, a new set are about to start on Grove Lane. The Highway Services department have issued letters to residents living on the route, but Grove Lane is a major through route used by people from all parts of Leeds, and again these works are bound to cause delays due to the use of temporary traffic signals.
We are therefore sharing the information more widely, so that people who use Grove Lane regularly can make plans to use alternative routes while the work is going on. The details are as follows:
HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT SCHEME – GROVE LANE, HEADINGLEY
Opposite 38, outside 65, where the Meanwood Valley Trail crosses the road and the side of 1 – 8 Bridgewater Court
As part of our highway improvement programme we intend to carry out works at the above location. The works will consist of the installation of speed cushions and a junction plateau.
The works are planned to commence on Monday 20th February and will be completed in approximately 2 weeks. The contractor’s working hours will be 09:30 – 15:30 Monday – Friday and temporary two-way signals will be place during these hours. On Sunday 5th March a road closure with signed diversion will be in place between 08:00 and 18:00.
You may have noticed that Northern Gas Networks have been doing a lot of work around Headingley recently. This is part of a major project to replace their existing metal gas mains with plastic pipes for safety and durability.
Next week, the company will be working on the road just outside the Original Oak on Headingley Lane, and will need to use two-way temporary traffic lights around the work-site. This is bound to mean serious delays on what is already a very congested route, so it is best to be aware of this in advance and make alternative travel plans if possible.
In May this year, the Transport Secretary ruled that the Leeds NGT trolleybus scheme was ‘not suitable for development’. However, the government agreed that the city of Leeds could still have the £173m public funding which it would have contributed to the trolleybus to spend on alternative transport schemes. The city council is therefore now consulting residents on how they think this money could best be used.
We think it is particularly important for Headingley residents to have their say in this consultation. Previous transport plans such as the trolleybus have proposed major changes to our area, and Headingley residents have needed to play a huge and important role in pointing out their flaws. We should all take this opportunity to feed our views into the development of new schemes from the start, and ensure that they reflect Headingley’s priorities.
The survey is available to take here until 20th September. It does not take long to complete, as it consists mainly of multiple-choice questions with tick-box answers. However, there are also two free text boxes towards the end of the survey, where you can entered more detailed thoughts and ideas of your own.