Work has begun on major improvements to Lime Street, famed for its train station. The £9m scheme is expected to take a year, and the road will be reduced to a single carriageway in each direction during this time. Lime Street Station has long been a major gateway to Liverpool, and the revamp will improve access for cyclists, bus passengers and pedestrians.
The work is part of the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity programme (LCCC), which has already carried out extensive improvements to Liverpool’s transport network. The £47m scheme, which began in Autumn 2018, is focussed on making routes more pedestrian and cycle friendly, easier to navigate for motorists, and reducing bus traffic.
Throughout the city, pavements are being widened, trees planted, new cycle lanes created, and junctions improved. This is intended to make the city a more attractive place to work and spend leisure time, as the number of Liverpool’s visitors, office workers, and residents continues to expand.
The Lime Street upgrade will include a cycle lane, widened boulevard style pavements, and a new public square outside the station. Towards the southern end at St George’s Plateau, a water feature and new events space will be created. This area lies with the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site, which was inscribed by UNESCO in 2004.
Lime Street will also benefit from the new City Centre Bus Hub on New Haymarket. Re-routed bus services and the new hub will provide a permanent layover facility, removing 700,000 dead miles and 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the city centre.
The LCCC scheme aims to make Liverpool a more attractive and greener place to live and work, and to boost new investment from business and tourism.
With the end of the coronavirus pandemic just appearing on the horizon, Liverpool will have an extra boost as it is the first city in the UK to roll out mass testing trials. There are 18 testing sites across the city, including Anfield stadium, and tests have been offered to all the city’s 500,000 residents and workers.