Bus Lane (Queen’s Square, Belfast) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

1996 No. 59

ROAD TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES

Bus Lane (Queen’s Square, Belfast) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996

Made

1st March 1996

Coming into operation

4th April 1996

WHEREAS the Department of the Environment has published a notice in compliance with Article 23(1) and (2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(1);

AND WHEREAS no objection or representation has been received;

NOW THEREFORE the Department, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 21(1) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Bus Lane (Queen’s Square, Belfast) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 4th April 1996.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“bus” means a public service vehicle constructed or adapted to carry 12 or more passengers;

“the bus lane” means the area of the carriageway of that length of Queen’s Square, Belfast, which extends from its junction with Prince’s Street to its junction with Victoria Street, bounded—

(a)

on its northern side by the outer edge of a road marking in the form of a continuous longitudinal white line and by the southern kerbline of traffic islands; and

(b)

on its southern side by the kerbline of Queen’s Square.

Restriction on traffic

3.  Save as provided in Article 4, a person shall not, except upon the direction or with the permission of a constable in uniform or of a traffic warden, cause or permit any vehicle other than a bus to enter, proceed or wait in the bus lane.

Exemptions

4.  The prohibition in Article 3 shall not render it unlawful for any person to cause or permit any vehicle to enter, proceed or wait in the bus lane so far as such entry, proceeding or waiting is reasonably necessary to enable the vehicle to be used—

(a) for police, military, fire brigade or ambulance purposes; or

(b) in the services of the Department in pursuance of statutory powers or duties; or

(c) in connection with the supply of electricity or any telegraphic line within the bus lane or an area accessible only from the bus lane.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on .

L.S.

E. J. Galway

Assistant Secretary

1st March 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order provides for a bus lane on part of the carriageway of Queen’s Square, Belfast, between its junction with Prince’s Street and its junction with Victoria Street.

Vehicles requiring access are exempted from the provisions of the Order.

Any person who acts in contravention of the Order shall be guilty of an offence under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000).

Traffic signs indicating the effect of the Order will in due course be erected on the road.

(1)

S.I. 1981/154 (N.I. 1); see Article 2(2) for the definition of “Department”