Norfolk County Council has given the green light for Foulger Transport vehicles to use a bus lane in Norwich in order to encourage retailers to use the company's consolidation centre. The trial scheme means vehicles operated by the Norfolk haulage company will be able to use the bus and cycle lane on the A11 during busy periods.
The company has struggled to attract business for
its consolidation centre from Norwich-based retailers, mainly because they must pay for the service. The proposal attracted opposition from the city council and cycle campaigners who believe it will cause accidents. However, members of the Norwich Highways Agency Joint Committee agreed last week to the trial going ahead. A county council spokesman says:
"It makes sense to encourage people to use the consolidation centre. There will be one lorry a day using it but it might go up to five. They are of a very similar size to a bus and there are 30 buses a day using it at the moment it will be a marginal difference. There is also an off-road cycle facility on one side of the Newmarket Road. Hopefully it will help take some freight off the road." Progress will be reviewed after six months. Foulger Transport was unavailable for comment.
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