A LOCAL resident has hit out at Bradford Council after claiming the removal of a bus lane leading into the city centre is causing confusion for motorists.

A bus lane on Leeds Road, which runs from the Airedale Shipley Road to Bank Street, has been removed but as of Monday bus lane signs were still in place.

A retired traffic police officer and Bradford resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "They've not taken the signs down but they've scrubbed out the lines and marks.

"They've burned the lines out but left the signs up, which is extremely confusing for motorists.

"They should have put hoods over the signs."

He also questioned the reasoning behind installing the bus lane.

He said: "If you take out one lane of a busy road, it's going to cause tailbacks, particularly when you get people who want to turn into The Broadway shopping centre.

"What's frustrating is that they've spent money on a bus lane and they've now eradicated it.

"Why did they put it up in this first place and how did it cost?"

The section of Leeds Road, along with a section of Hall Ings was reduced to one lane in each direction to make it easier for people, including those using the street's bus stops, to maintain social distancing.

It was also hoped that more people would be encouraged to cycle and walk on the route.

Bradford Council announced the plans in early May 2020 as part of a number of "active travel" measures to help post Covid recovery and they were installed in September last year.

The works were part of a package of measures to encourage greener, healthier and safer travel and are funded through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We have removed the bus lanes on this section of Leeds Road to assess the impact on traffic flows during the busy Christmas period around the major parking areas at the Broadway Centre, Law Courts and George Street.

“This will help us finalise proposals for future traffic movements for our Transforming Cities Fund scheme.

“Bus lanes are primarily designed to improve journey times for people opting for sustainable transport.

“A deeper understanding of traffic movements in this busy retail area over the busy Christmas period will help us develop dedicated bus routes that are separate from general traffic.”