Dear Cllr Stephanos Ioannou,
Case Reference: 101000113585
Thank you for passing on the concerns raised by residents of 109 Station Road
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you, but the enquiry was incorrectly categorised to begin with and was only re-allocated to me on the 7th July, however I required information from the Traffic and Transportation team in order to answer it
I now have the information I need from them, please see the response below
The Council’s traffic team advises that the location of the bus stop was agreed within the planning approval process for the building. It was always intended to be in front of the building, not the other side of the zebra crossing. The developer of the homes, and those taking up occupation subsequently, should consider the position of the bus stop as part of the characteristic of the homes, rather than something they can seek to have moved away retrospectively. The team designing it felt, and still feel, this is the optimum position. Options on where it can be fitted, looking along the street, are limited by the queuing space needed for the signals, the need to provide a loading bay, and the markings for the pre-existing zebra crossing. The footway is not particularly wide, but it is no narrower where the stop is placed than at other sections in the vicinity, nor at many other bus stops, and in the judgement of the team it does not unduly hinder those in wheelchairs or pushing buggies. Should such a footway user encounter someone occupying the particular space between bus stop post and shelter, we would hope it was particularly uncommon for that person to force the wheelchair user to pass them via the road rather than simply take a step back out of their way.
With bus stop events typically very brief in duration, the team does feels that the scenario of two buses waiting opposite each other would apply on fleetingly during the day. Even when occurring, there is space between for at least one stream of traffic to pass. Queuing for the signals is likely to be the far greater influence on the presence of queuing traffic. For those reasons the team is not recommending a relocation of the bus stop.
With regards to the request for the litter bin to be moved from its existing location, while I accept this should have taken place when the bus stop was moved, Street Cleansing have no control over the works that were undertaken
To move and relocate the existing bin would be a costly exercise and as the Council is currently undertaking a litter bin survey within the whole borough, it is not something we would consider at this time.
Once the survey is completed, we will be in a better position to consider this request.
In the meantime, the Senior Chargehand for the area will monitor the situation and take any necessary action to resolve issues that arise
Yours sincerely
