Following the Bus Users' Group's involvment in procuring new bus stops on service 11 in Marsh we have had another success, this time assisting local people at Denny Bank - on the A683 - to get some certainty over where buses will now stop to pick them up.
The bus stops at Denny Bank serve not just the isolated row of houses that line one side of the A683 Caton Road from Lancaster, but also residents of Halton, who walk there from the village to catch buses towards Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale as an alternative to travelling into Lancaster on the 49 and out again.
But there has always been some uncertainty over where they should wait, with passengers and bus drivers often having different ideas.
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| Denny Bank bus stop (centre of photo) with unmarked stop opposite on Street View |
The stop for buses towards Lancaster is clearly marked (although usually blocked by parked cars). Google Maps shows a stop directly opposite, but this is not marked on the ground in any way. The southbound stop is labelled "both directions" but of course that isn't easily visible from the other side of the busy A683.
Halton residents had previously asked Stagecoach to mark the stop but told the Group that they had had no response. But knowing who to ask is key to achieving a solution and an email to the right person in County Hall resulted in an early promise to get a pole and flag erected just before the trees on the northbound side of the road in the photo. It also appears that whereas the southbound stop is officially named "Denny Bank", its northbound equivalent is "Denny Beck" and LCC have also promised to put this right.
It has to be said that Halton residents would have preferred a stop farther back towards the junction with Denny Lane to avoid the walk along the A683 but road safety considerations precluded that and hopefully the new stop sign will make things better for passengers and drivers. The BUG takes the view that uncertainty is one of the biggest barriers to persuading people to travel by bus and uncertainty as to where the bus will stop has to be one of the biggest barriers.
We have found Lancashire County Council easy to deal with on the matter of bus stops and very quick to respond, usually in a positive manner. The Group will be happy to take up any further bus stop issues with them if they are brought to our attention.