Bus Lanes - Ballygowan Road and Castlereagh Road Corridor, Belfast

The Order will revoke and replace existing bus lanes and introduce new extended lengths of inbound bus lane on Ballygowan Road and Castlereagh Road and introduce new lengths of outbound bus lane on Castlereagh Road in which only buses, cycles, motor cycles and permitted taxis (as defined below) and certain specified vehicles are permitted. The inbound bus lanes will operate between 7.30 am and 9.30 am Monday to Friday inclusive on the following lengths of road—

• the city bound carriageway of Ballygowan Road, Belfast from a point 89 metres south-east of its junction with Lead Hill to a point 133 metres north-west of that junction;
• the city bound carriageway of Castlereagh Road, Belfast from a point 39 metres north-west of its junction with Clonduff Drive to a point 81 metres north-west of that junction;
• the city bound carriageway of Castlereagh Road, Belfast from a point 59 metres north-west of its junction with Montgomery Road to a point 10 metres south-east of its junction with Cicero Gardens; and
• the city bound carriageway of Castlereagh Road, Belfast from a point 32 metres north-west of its junction with Ormonde Gardens to a point 8 metres south-east of its junction with Leitrim Street.

The outbound bus lanes will operate between 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm Monday to Friday inclusive on the following lengths of road—

• the country bound carriageway of Castlereagh Road, Belfast from a point 42 metres north-west of its junction with Orby Park to a point 62 metres north-west of its junction with Grand Parade; and
• the country bound carriageway of Castlereagh Road, Belfast from a point 49 metres south-east of its junction with Grand Parade to a point 36 metres north-west of a point opposite the junction with Montgomery Road.

The Order will also restrict waiting by buses, cycles, motor cycles and permitted taxis to no more than 2 minutes.

Permitted taxi means a taxi which is either –

(i) licensed to stand or ply for hire on a road or public place and subject to the Bye-Laws made in respect of Motor Hackney Carriages standing or plying for hire made by the Council of the county Borough of Belfast on 4 June 1951 and which meets the specifications prescribed by regulation 41 of the Public Service Vehicles (Condition of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995; or

(ii) licensed to operate carriage services under the road service license provision of Part II of the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967.

Inspecting the proposals

Full details are contained in the draft Order which together with maps showing the roads involved may be inspected free of charge during office hours within the period below at

During the current Covid-19 restrictions, access to this building is limited and inspection of the draft Order and maps is by appointment only which can be arranged either by email using traffic.eastern@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or by telephone during office hours (Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 5.00 pm) on 03002007899.

Making an objection

Any person may object or make other representations, specifying the grounds on which they are made, by writing to the Department at the address above or by emailing traffic.eastern@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk before 24 September 2021.

The information you provide in your response to this consultation, excluding personal information, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please tell us why, but be aware that, under FOI/EIR, we cannot guarantee confidentiality.

For information regarding the Departmental Privacy Notice flowing the introduction of GDPR please go to the following link DfI Privacy or phone the Data Protection Office on 028 90540540. For further details on confidentiality, the FOIA and EIR please refer to https://ico.org.uk