The new bus service has arrived on Kingsway, Gloucestershire’s major homes jobs and leisure destination on the A38 south of Gloucester.
Stagecoach has launched its Number 14 Citi-bus service, which will operate between the Kingsway development and Gloucester city centre, also taking in the nearby Quedgeley centre. Two of the six daily services will run on to the nearby town of Stroud.
Six new buses have been purchased by Stagecoach to serve this new Kingsway route. They have the highly recognisable dual green coloured Kingsway development logo on the smart, eye-catching blue and red bus livery. These new buses feature modern wide doors and step-free entrance enabling easy excess for the elderly and disabled and those with young children in buggies.
There are two bus stops installed actually on the Kingsway development itself. The bus runs straight up the development’s main spine road Woodvale (route details TBA).
To mark the launch of the new service, all Kingsway households will be given a one month Megabus pass that allows for unlimited travel on Stagecoach bus services right across the Gloucester city area from Brockworth, Hignham and Churchdown and all points in-between.
Explains Stagecoach Marketing Manager, Nathan Williams, “The Megabus passes will be made available along with the local route 14 mini-guide timetable as Kingsway residents move in to their new homes. Soon we will distribute dated Megabus passes and timetable mini guides to homes already occupied on Kingsway.”
Public transport and cycling is at the core of Kingsway special travel plan. Explains plan co-ordinator, Martin Dolan, “The start of the much anticipated Number 14 bus service on Kingsway is something of a landmark in the rollout of our overall Travel Plan. We believe that in the future, residents on developments such as Kingsway are likely to be attracted by a wide range of transport benefits and an environment where the intrusion of cars and traffic is minimised. That is the aim of our travel plan - to ensure such benefits are, in time, very much part of life here on the development.
The Kingsway Travel Plan aims to meet the social, economic and environmental aspirations of residents here. Their support and co-operation will make it a success and I am very hopeful we are going about things in the right way to achieve a most positive response in this new flourishing area of Gloucester.”
Already more than 500 of the 3,000 plus homes planned for Kingsway are occupied. A wide range of well-planned and presented employment and public amenities will be provided within the development, including schools, shops, healthcare and leisure facilities.
Work also begins soon on a 40 acres employment area where there will be a range of business properties developed, covering offices, light industrial and warehouses.
The exciting ‘Local Centre’ is being planned by commercial developers Robert Hitchins, to offer a thriving central focus to Kingsway. The plans are currently being finalised but the basic layout and design of the centre has been agreed. Outline planning consent is already in place with the Centre planned for completion next year.
Facilities feature retail premises, including a small food store, a community centre, health centre and pub restaurant. Two new primary schools are to be built and paid for the Kingsway QUVL consortium. Work on the first of these begins soon and should be completed by 2008. The second school is planned as part of the latter phases of the development towards the end of the decade.
There will also be over 40 acres of public open space and work is now getting underway on the revival and development of the first of these varied areas. Just started is the restoration of an historic orchard that forms part of the restored historic Manor Farm, which is located at the heart of the development.
The land surrounding the orchard will also be radically transformed, with four new football pitches, a cricket pitch, pavilion and parking. A network of footpaths and cycle ways will radiate out from this area to link with the wider development area.