Bus stop safety fears 'ignored' on Fishponds Road, Bristol
POLICE have raised safety concerns about bus stops which have been "built-out" into one of Bristol's busiest roads.
The Evening Post has learned that officers said the stops inFishponds Road, which force traffic to wait behind the bus or overtake, seemed designed to force following traffic into the path of oncoming traffic.
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A vehicle pulls out to get by a bus stopped in Fishponds Road near the junction with Hawkesbury Road, while a woman crosses in front Picture: Dan Regan
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Fishponds traffic campaigner David Mock, centre back, with other concerned residents at the bus stop on Fishponds Road junction with Hawkesbury Road Picture: Dan Regan BRDR20111027A004_C
Residents also raised concerns with the city council that the bus stops would be dangerous.
The spot on Fishponds Road where a double-decker had its roof ripped off after hitting a tree on Monday was directly opposite a "built-out" bus stop. A joint investigation by the council, police and bus operator First is likely to look at whether the outbound bus stop was a contributing factor to the incident on the lane heading towards the city centre.
The council's own road safety engineering officers conducted a safety review into the bus stops in June and had concerns that at the same bus stop there was "potential conflict" between vehicles trying to pass a bus and those turning right.
In a police "observation" of the bus stops handed in to the council, which was obtained via a Freedom of Information request by a resident, a police officer wrote that he and a colleague were both "concerned that the location of many of the bus stops seemed to be designed to force following traffic into the path of oncoming traffic when passing buses at the stops".
The officer goes on to say that the concerns are as a result of watching various motorists and cyclists negotiating waiting buses, or becoming frustrated at not being able to pass buses as a result of oncoming traffic.
The controversial "built-out" bus stops were installed along Fishponds Road this year and are also in place in many other locations across the city.
The council says some of them have been used in the city for the last ten years, with stops in place in Two Mile Hill, Kingswood; Church Road, Redfield; Bell Hill Road, Nags Head Hill and Summerhill Road, St George; Stapleton Road; Bishopsworth Road and in Ashton Vale.
The stops involve the pavement being widened out into the road and a painted bus stop being placed on the main carriageway.
Rather than taking a bus away from following traffic and towards the side of the road it blocks the lane and vehicles behind it must either wait or try to overtake it in the opposite lane meant for oncoming traffic.
The council said the idea for the stops is that traffic is "held behind the bus for a short time" to ensure buses do not have to wait to pull out.
David Mock, spokesman for the traffic and transport subgroup of the Greater Fishponds Neighbourhood Partnership, told the Evening Post that for months residents have been warning that the stops are dangerous, to no avail.
"These bus stops were introduced without adequate explanation or consultation," he said. "In a leaflet delivered to residents these stops were simply referred to as 'bus stop improvements', which was misleading.
"The police have also identified serious concerns regarding their safety and operation.
"All traffic, including bicycles and emergency service vehicles, is prevented from passing the buses without pulling out into the opposite lane and facing oncoming traffic.
"We have been saying they are dangerous for many months now and believe they could force vehicles on the other side of the road and those in the bus lane closer to the kerb."
City council spokeswoman Kate Hartas said the authority could not speculate on whether the built-out bus stop was a contributing factor in Monday's accident while an investigation was still ongoing.
She did confirm that the stops had only been referred to as "bus stop improvements" in the leaflets delivered to residents.
They were described as built-out bus stops in detailed plans at a drop-in exhibition that residents were encouraged to visit.
Ms Hartas said the police officer who wrote the observation report expressing concern about the safety of the bus stops was a beat officer "without a road safety background" and that it was not made as a statutory response.
"This observation was publicly withdrawn following discussions with police and council road safety professionals," said Ms Hartas.
"Road safety professionals at the council walked the course with the police road safety officer at design stage, and the police's feedback was incorporated into the final scheme.
"The rationale behind built-out bus stops is that buses maintain their place in the traffic queue, and they have all been designed to be inherently safe. As on any two-carriageway road, traffic is required to wait behind a bus pulled over in front of it, rather than risk carrying out an illegal manoeuvre.
"When the statutory consultation was advertised, the police's traffic management representative who was aware of the scheme development was unavailable; colleagues with less background knowledge of the A432 corridor stepped into the breach, and made a number of comments based on observations on-site.
"A meeting of the council and those police staff has been held since, following which all of the concerns expressed by the police have been addressed."
94 Comments
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by geeveeh
Friday, November 04 2011, 12:11AM
“Bus stops in general are sighted by total ignoramuses.=, rather similar to descisions by local councils. !!”
by bristolgeoff
Thursday, November 03 2011, 10:26PM
“the flower beds in whiteladies rd plus the stick out bus stops will not do anything to help the flow of traffic.the council keep they plans quiet to the end i think.first bus is a expensive journey.i would love to tell the council their ideas will not work,but they will not listen.to us.bristol is going to the dogs with they stupid planning ideas”
by Baldeeheed
Thursday, November 03 2011, 10:25PM
“Chipnum (Pete),
You can go on as much as you like extolling the virtues of diesel buses - you're clearly paid to do so.
But until they're cheap, reliable, comfortable and convenient, any Bristolian that possibly can will avoid them like the plague.
And quite right to.”
by NotTheCouncil
Thursday, November 03 2011, 5:26PM
“We agree Chipnum.
Bristol is only slightly different in that none of our Bus Blocks appear on any consultation plans, we prefer not to give the public a chance to project to them you see. We also refuse to believe the congestion they cause even when witnessed with our own eyes (Not naming names here... but *cough* Tim Kent *cough*). We also refuse to provide the information proving they help. We also refuse to read any petitions from local people against them. We also refuse to provide information showing they have helped (maybe they haven't... Sssshhhh). We also refuse to believe emergency services when they state they are dangerous and putting peoples lives at risk. So maybe we aren't so similar?
How efficient are the 24 Hour Bus Lanes for buses when we barely have a 9-5 Bus Service in Bristol? 0% is your answer.
See you at the next 'How can we cause more congestion in Bristol meeting'.”
by Chipnum
Thursday, November 03 2011, 4:28PM
“1. Bristol is no different from any other UK city in it's use of bus stop build-outs.
2. Traffic flow is not the same as people flow. Buses should have priority in urban areas as public transport make more efficient use of road space, and carries more people per vehicle than cars do. In European cities this is the accepted norm and not up for political debate.
3. Comparisons with Graz - yes they have trams, most European cities do. UK voters prefer tax cuts and low council tax, and thus in the main have to rely on buses that are run commercially.
4. Comparisons with Graz (2), obviously the rule of the road is different in Austria. Bus manufacturers offer right hand drive vehicles with doors on the correct side for the UK!”
by Fuzzhead
Tuesday, November 01 2011, 4:54PM
“@Bristolgeoff said - "a bit late now,all build and the council will avoid the questions like the plague.should have said something before it was built".
Many people did, Bristolgeoff, as soon as they saw what was being built. The council deceived the public by describing the build outs in their GBBN consultation plan innocently as 'bus stop improvements' with nothing else to give away what they actually involved.”
by jayverdi
Tuesday, November 01 2011, 1:53PM
“Damn built-out bus stops and kerbs are also dangerous to us cyclists as they force us out into the traffic flow!! So the council spend my money on making the roads more dangerous for cyclists and more congested for car/van/lorry drivers.
Typical of Bristol highways dept.”
by bristolgeoff
Monday, October 31 2011, 10:44PM
“a bit late now,all build and the council will avoid the questions like the plague.should have said something before it was built”
by roly12345
Monday, October 31 2011, 10:35PM
“Here's the answer, free taxi's running along all the major routes during rush hours for a year.
The cost would be minuscule in comparison to the cash for first bosses scheme and unlike the road works would not require restoring to the pre lunatic state after the inevitable crashes that all right thinking people know will occur.
I wonder if the planners of this fiasco have looked closely at their public indemnity insurance as i see a lot of claims for losses being levied directly at the morons responsible for endangering lives.”
by FromMendip
Monday, October 31 2011, 11:07AM
“"Ms Hartas said the police officer who wrote the observation report expressing concern about the safety of the bus stops was a beat officer "without a road safety background" and that it was not made as a statutory response."
Is the city council now privy to the background and overall experience of every police officer in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary?
Road safety is part of the duty and responsibilities of all police officers and it doesn't need a degree in theory to spot when something is potentially dangerous. In fact, the theoretical warriors are usely the most worrying as they rarely look at things from a common sense perspective.
The city council rarely listens to police or other authority viewpoints if they don't coincide with its own.
In the 1980s the city council decided to replace the light-controlled pedestrian crossing in Union Street outside the Odeon with an 'ordinary' pedestrian crossing despite police objections. The result was what police feared: at lunctimes a continual and unhindered flow of pedestrians soon had traffic blocked back as far as Bristol Bridge on some days.The council then had the cheek to ask for a police officer to control the crossing at busy times - request denied!
Eventually the council saw common sense and reinstated a light-controlled crossing that has perisited till this day.
Nothing will stop this council once it gets an idea into its head, no matter how crass.”