Park and ride hailed as best way to travel to the race start line

The start of last year's Great South Run

Portsmouth City Council is running the service from the multi-storey car park at Portsmouth International Port with buses running every five minutes from 7am until 9am taking runners and spectators directly to Clarence Pier – a short walk from the start line.

Cllr Jim Fleming, cabinet member for transportation, said: ‘We are looking forward to hosting the 26th Great South Run in Portsmouth next weekend and welcoming thousands of runners and spectators to the city.

‘Please note that traffic will be very busy on the Sunday and we recommend using public transport or our special park and ride service from The Hard if travelling to the event. Good luck to all runners!’

Return buses will depart from Clarence Pier from 12.15pm and will run until 3.27pm.

The service costs £4 per vehicle with up to eight passengers.

Drivers will need to pay on exit by cash or card, and park and ride smartcards will not be accepted on this service.

The regular Portsmouth park and ride will still be operating every 15 minutes for shoppers, visitors and spectators travelling to the city centre and The Hard.

This will run from the earlier time of 8am, but buses leaving the park and ride site in Tipner between 9.30am and 3pm will only travel as far as the city centre due to event road closures.

Normal park and ride bus services from The Hard will resume when the roads reopen at about 3pm, with the last bus leaving The Hard at 6.20pm and the city centre at 6.25pm.

There will be a number of road restrictions and closures over the weekend to make way for the Great South Run.

To check for information on road closures and restrictions that will be in place search for ‘Traffic Regulation Order number 72’ online at portsmouth.gov.uk

The Hard interchange is also currently under construction and a temporary interchange is in operation.

People are advised to allow more time for connections. Bus services will also be affected over the weekend so it is advised to check individual operators for revised timetables.

Follow Twitter feed  @portsmouthroads for live traffic updates.