SIGNIFICANT changes to road crossings in Old Town could be around the corner as the council looks to introduce a new bus corridor from Wichelstowe to the town centre.

The project aims to reduce the time taken for each bus journey from the current 22 minutes to between 10 and 12 minutes.

Expected to cost up to £3.28m, it will be funded through a mixture of Local Enterprise Partnership money and contributions from housing developers.

While conversations are still ongoing to identify a bus provider to operate the route, it is thought that in the early stages some of that money could also be used to subsidise the route.

To achieve the reduction in journey time, council traffic planners are proposing to remove three traffic light controlled crossings - they will be replaced by more free-flowing ‘shared space’ arrangements like that on the road outside Regent Circus.

The crossings in question are on Victoria Road near to the junction with Bath Road, on Devizes Road outside the Los Gatos restaurant and on the High Street between the Co-Op and the Locarno.

Labour councillor Nadine Watts (Lab) says she is concerned that, despite the scale of the changes, not enough people are aware of the proposals.

She is encouraging residents to contribute to the consultation before it comes to a close on March 22.

Coun Watts said: “The aim of the scheme is to provide a fast and reliable bus service from Wichelstowe to the town centre while at the same time improving the local environment and quality of life for pedestrians along the route, particularly in the Old Town area.

“Often people say that they would use buses more often if they were more frequent and the journey times were improved, so this would address these issues.

“People may feel that because they don’t use the bus or don’t live in Wichelstowe, they don’t need to take part in the consultation.

“However, the proposals involve buses using Wood Street, and this could impact on pedestrians and shop owners as well as causing congestion, especially during delivery times.

“There are also plans to narrow carriageways and widen pavements.

“My main concern involves the removal of three controlled crossings which would be replaced by a shared surface similar to that in Regent Circus.

“I am aware that the Regent Circus proposals caused a lot of concern, especially among elderly and disabled people.

“There are lots of retired people living in Old Town, and of course some of them have impaired mobility. I would urge residents to have their say.”

This is the third phase of the bus corridor consultation, two earlier phases saw a number of possible plans reduced to the option that is now in front of residents.

Further detail around the plans will be outlined later in 2017.

To contribute or to find out more, visit www.swindontravelchoices.co.uk