Parkway: how to get around the town

Buses and taxis will no longer be able to use the town centre areas during the day

BUSES and taxis will no longer be able to drive through Newbury town centre during the day, coinciding with the opening of Parkway today (Thursday).

However, cyclists will still be able to use the pedestrian areas in Northbrook Street, Bartholomew Street and the Market Place.

For several years, West Berkshire Council has been planning to re-route buses away from the pedestrian zone and from today (Thursday), this will become a reality, with buses serving the town via Park Way and Park Way Bridge, rather than using Northbrook Street and Bartholomew Street.

New bus stops will be located in Park Way and the Park Way Bridge will be for the exclusive two-way use of buses, taxis and cycles, controlled by traffic lights.

Changes will also be made to the town's taxi ranks, with the taxi rank that has previously been in the Market Place relocated to Wharf Street, outside the West Berkshire Museum.

This rank, which has been a non-public ‘feeder' rank, will now have seven spaces.

In addition, there will be a full-time taxi rank at the northern end of Northbrook Street, five part-time spaces in Bartholomew Street near Iceland (5pm – 10pm), three more south of Iceland (10pm – 6am), five near The Dolphin (6pm to 8am) and three outside the post office (midnight – 6am).

These spaces will be in addition to the existing ranks in Market Street, at the northern end of Northbrook Street and at Newbury train station.

Four further spaces will be located outside the new John Lewis at home store in Parkway when it opens in the spring, taking the total number of spaces in the town to 44.