The mystery of the missing pedestrian crossing on Damisde Street, giving access to Lancaster Bus Station, has been solved.
Readers may recall that it was provided by Lancashire County Council after a lengthy campaign by the Group and County Councillor Lizzi Collinge when building work on the corner of Damside Street and Wood Street closed the two crossings that prevously provided a safe walking route. (Read again here)
But a couple of weeks ago the crossing disappeared, without notice and without any alternative safe route being provided. Several theories were put forward by readers of our Facebook page as to why it had gone.
Some said it had been taken away because "kids had been moving it up and down the street" and confusing drivers and pedestrians alike.
Others said, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, it had gone "because no-one used it".
But eventually, after another intervention by Councillor Collinge, the real reason emerged - although we found it hard to believe at first.
The crossing was removed because the Council wasn't prepared to pay for it! Apparently, councils don't keep stocks of temporary traffic lights themselves, but hire them from outside contractors as and when required. Lancashire County Council agreed to provide them on Damside Street on the understanding that the cost would be recovered from the building contractors working on the site on the Damside Street / Wood Street corner.
But with that project "having fallen into financial difficulties" (according to a Council spokesman) and with work on the site having ceased, the council decided it was unlikely to be able to recover its costs and it was not prepared to meet them itself for what could be a lengthy period of time. Safety, it seems, comes at a price that the council isn't prepared to pay.
Needless to say, neither the BUG nor Cllr. Collinge finds this acceptable and we have protested in the strongest terms.
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| The banksman (right) on duty. |
The apparent failure of the project is also causing problems for Stagecoach, which is having to employ a banksman to supervise the buses entering the bus station via Wood Street due to the restricted visibility caused by the hoarding and the continuing problem of passengers attempting to enter the bus station via the vehicle entrance. To contain costs, the Wood Street side of the station is not used after 7pm at night, with buses relocated to the opposite side of the station.
This can be done at night only because of the smaller number of buses using the station and Stagecoach has indicated that it doesn't feel it should be expected to meet the cost of the banksman indefinitely and it will be looking for an alternative solution that might even involve moving southbound services out of the bus station altogether.
