Last November, the Bus Users' Group conducted an audit of passenger facilities at bus stops on the route of service 7 (Lancaster Bus Station to Vale). The results were published here on 7th February (Broken Shop Windows Read Again) and were forwarded to Lancashire County Council for its attention.
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| Read the whole document here |
In summary, we found a substantial backlog of maintenance all along the route, with leaning poles, loose signs, faded road markings and incorrect or out-of-date stop names, all contributing to a run down appearance and an atmosphere of neglect almost designed to turn away potential passengers.
The county council promised urgent action on those items we had identified as hazardous, and also a review of what could be done on some of the other matters we had raised, whilst warning us that they had over 8,000 bus stops in their part of the county to look after and limited resources and funding
So, what has changed?
Six-months on, the items identified as posing a hazard to the public were swiftly rectified. All credit to the council, but it might have been better if they hadn't allowed them to get into that state in the first place.
The leaning pole and loose sign at Clare Road:
BEFORE
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| Pole in danger of falling over and loose sign. |
AFTER
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| New super-size pole, and new flag all set back from the pavement edge. |
Another loose sign on Barley Cop Lane at a stop still then called "Co-Op", despite the shop having become a branch of McColls. The out-of-date stop name was missing from the sign.
BEFORE
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| Loose sign and the stop name missing |
AFTER
New sign and a new name.
The stop used to have the official name of Co-Op, despite the Co-Op shop having become a branch of McColls as seen in the "before" image. Sensibly, in view of yet another rebranding exercise the stop is now called "Hathaway Road" to match the inward stop nearby.
Hathaway Road
The inward stop at Hathaway Road has a shelter provided by the City Council, to which the stop name had been applied by someone without any interest in Shakespeare!
BEFORE
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AFTER
We were originally told that because of the way the names on this type of shelter are applied it is not actually possible to change them! But someone appears to have had a go and has at least succeeded in removing the embarrassing misspelling!
Road Markings Refreshed
Many of our other complaints were regarding the dreadful state of the Bus Stop Clearways and box markings, which were so badly worn as to be illegible in many cases. We are sure it is co-incidental, but earlier this month the County Council decided to resurface Barley Cop Lane and Noel Road!
This actually caused a great deal of inconvenience to bus users as no alternative route was provided for buses whilst the work was taking place, but the improvements to the bus stop markings are remarkable.
As an example take another look at the stop previously called Co-Op and now "Hathaway Road":
BEFORE
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| "Bus Stop Clearway" completely worn out |
AFTER
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| No doubt now that this is a bus stop! |
Similar improvements have been made at all the stops on Barley Cop Lane and will follow on Noel Road when the resurfacing work there is completed. This all makes life easier for bus drivers, for whom it helps keep the stops clear of parked cars as well as for motorists who no longer run the risk of parking illegally on a bus stop. Perhaps most importantly, taken together, all these improvements combine to give a more favourable impression to passengers and would-be passengers and might perhaps allow them to think that somebody actually cares!
Although the Bus Users' Group has no plans to conduct further audits at present, we are always happy to help resolve any problems with stops and shelters. These can be reported directly to Lancashire County Council by any of the methods suggested on this link
Alternatively, you can let us know at busstops@lancasterbususers.com and we will take them up on your behalf.