A key Leicester route is set for new restrictions to help reduce congestion. Leicester City Council has said it will be implementing a “red route” along the A6.

This means drivers will not be able to stop on the stretch, with restrictions including the dropping off and picking up of passengers and deliveries. Any motorist caught breaching the new rules will face a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days, the city council has said.

The no stopping order is expected to come into effect from April, a council spokesman added. The restrictions will be in place along the full length of Abbey Lane and St Margaret’s Way.

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The new measures are intended to prevent “unauthorised and inconsiderate parking”, particularly by cars, which can be “a significant cause of congestion along the route”, the authority said. Exemptions will be in place for buses and hackney carriages.

Work will be undertaken over the coming weeks to prepare the stretch by removing the old yellow lines and applying the new red route markings, with a series of road closures expected. These will be between Abbey Lane’s junctions with Thurcaston Road and Corporation Road and Beaumont Leys Lane. The outbound route will be closed to traffic on Sunday, March 9, and Monday, March 17.

There will be inbound closures on Monday, March 10, and Sunday, March 23. All of the closures are set to take place overnight between 7.30pm and 11.30pm, with diversions signposted, the council said.

The remainder of the work will be undertaken in phases, with temporary lane restrictions needed. These will again be between 7.30pm and 11.30pm. Access to properties will be maintained throughout the works.

This will be only the second such red route in the city, with the first created in London Road in Summer 2020. Geoff Whittle, assistant city mayor for transport, said: “The introduction of a red route will build on the major investment we have already made in highways improvements on and around Abbey Lane and St Margaret’s Way.

“The new rules are being introduced, after public consultation, to tackle the problem of cars and lorries stopping illegally along this busy road. It will help cut congestion, keep traffic moving more efficiently and improve this important route in and out of the city for all road users.”