The scrapped Portswood bus gate trial saw traffic in a surrounding residential road surge by as much as 228 per cent during a peak time period.

Southampton City Council leaders suspended the controversial scheme, which was designed to limit traffic on a busy high street, earlier this month.

The restrictions in Portswood Road meant only buses, taxis and cyclists were permitted to travel along sections of the road between 7am and 10am, and 4pm and 7pm Monday to Saturday.

A monitoring report three months after the scheme went live compared figures collected last summer from automatic traffic counters to data obtained in late March and early April when the bus gate was in force.

The report by consultants WSP found the road with the largest increase in traffic was Abbotts Way between Russell Place and Brookvale Road, where northbound weekday traffic increased 228 per cent between 7am and 10am and 130 per cent between 4pm and 7pm.

There were also increases in southbound traffic in this section of Abbots Way of 95 per cent in the peak morning period and 61 per cent in the afternoon peak.

Nearby Brookvale Road was at the centre of many of the concerns and objections related to the bus gate’s impact.

The monitoring report found traffic in both directions combined in Brookvale Road was up 66 per cent between 7am to 10am on weekdays and 76 per cent between 4pm and 7pm.

Vehicle numbers were also up in Westridge Road, Belmont Road South and Winn Road.

Traffic was down on all four locations monitored on Portswood Road, by up to two thirds.

When the announcement was made that the bus gate would be suspended, cabinet member for environment and transport Cllr Eamonn Keogh said the local authority’s approach had always been rooted in evidence and safety.

“The data shows that while the intended benefits are emerging, we must address unintended effects on surrounding roads,” Cllr Keogh said.

He added: “We are acting decisively to relieve that pressure while continuing to explore long-term improvements.

“The council will work closely with residents in the coming months to understand why expected traffic patterns, such as use of Thomas Lewis Way, have not materialised.

“This engagement will help shape the next phase of the project, including possible new measures to protect residential roads and improve overall traffic flow.”

A large protest against the scheme took place in Portswood in March, while a petition calling for it to be scrapped attracted thousands of signatures.