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| The side of the bus station that suddenly closed |
Half of Lancaster Bus Station was closed and buses relocated at extremely short notice on Friday, 12th May. Departure stands 12 to 20, for buses heading north and west from the station, were affected following a safety inspection of the concourse.
Stagecoach say they had had
concerns over the state of the road surface on that side of the station for
some time, with issues such as sunken drain covers and uneven surfacing causing
problems.
This is the side of the station
where United Utilities installed a storm water bank beneath the roadway in
2014, which itself necessitated a lengthy closure. The inspection was expected to require a
temporary closure to allow the work to take place, but once it got underway it
apparently found that that that side of the station had to be closed
immediately and “until further notice”!
With no time to plan for the closure, the bus operators had to react immediately. Buses on services 1/1A and 100 were rerouted away from the station, with alternative stops at Sainsbury’s for Morecambe-bound buses and Parliament Street for those heading for the University, whilst service 2X was relocated to Chapel Street. The remaining services were moved to use the Wood Street side of the bus station, using whatever stands that were available. After 19:00hrs and all day Sunday services 1/1A and 100 revert to using the bus station, albeit with buses in doth directions leaving from the Wood Street side.