I don't know the area, what is the panels take on this?
tinyurl.com/cfjkxba (Daily Mail)
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I thought the purpose of a bus lane was to speed up buses' progress through traffic, by giving them priority access to speed routes?
This restriction does nothing to meet that criterion. Don't councils have to justify the benefits of a bus lane before they can designate one - have they followed the correct procedure here?
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>> I thought the purpose of a bus lane was to speed up buses' progress through
>> traffic, by giving them priority access to speed routes?
I think this one meets the criteria by giving the bus access to a 'back way' out of the estate so that they're speeded up by not doing a 'circular' through the estate.
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Difficult to extract the facts from the usual DM froth and outrage.
What is clear however is that its not a new bus lane, it's been there for at least two years. The change is that enforcement has passed to the Council who've concluded that it's being flouted and put up a camera to catch the offenders.
I would guess from the map that access to the estate has always been via the 'diversion' but that a bus only route directly to the A6 was provided. Access for all and sundry from a trunk road directly into a housing estate creates queues, right turn hazards etc etc. Even a hi frequency bus service only runs every ten minutes. Residents will be in and out every few seconds.
And nobody can be in any doubt that it's a bus lane can they?
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 26 Mar 13 at 08:31
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Hasn't been a problem for 2 years apparently whilst they've all been happy to break the law without penalty, the games up get over it.
Daily Mail are untruthful again, as can be seen from their diagram its probably a 200 metre extra drive, but no doubt in practice at peak times their short cut meant they could leap frog the inevitable queue on the converging main road.
Its highly likely other motorists already on the main road have twigged this wheeze and join them on the bus track to queue jump too, leaving the bus queueing up with all the others.
Too many cars trying to converge on Bedford and almost all other large towns at peak times as it is, its hell round the old Elstow storage area.
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"They should do this for all entrances to the estate and keep the plebs in".
Comment :)
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>> "They should do this for all entrances to the estate and keep the plebs in".
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>> Comment :)
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No, those are cycle gates, not bus lanes.
Anyone who gets a fine at that location must be a few brain cells short or have eyesight below spec for driving.
If the locals think the bus lane is wrong they can always get payback by voting out the councillors who approved it.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 26 Mar 13 at 08:48
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That report is a classic of the Mail's style.
Story involves Council so presses the beaurocracy buttons. Distortion and at least one outright lie in the headline and text . A deal of froth and anger from outraged respectable citizens including photographs.
Perhaps Roy Greenslade would like it for his journalism college.
Pity Iffy's not still here to try and tell us how balanced it really is.
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There was a restriction there in 2009 when the streetview car passed by.
goo.gl/maps/JevUh
At that time it was 'No Motor Vehicles' except buses. I suspect the Council have formally designated it a bus lane recently to facilitate enforcement. Hence the fuss from residents who've cheerfully broken the law for the preceding four years.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 26 Mar 13 at 10:20
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Simple solution is to ignore it. We had one in Gedling, Nottingham called a bus plug. While everyone had meetings and petitions, I just drove through every day and ignore it until it was removed when Labour lost their council seat there. If I ever did get stopped, I would say I was looking for a property for sale on the restricted stretch.
www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Changing-bus-plugs-cost-450-000/story-12186777-detail/story.html#axzz2OY7VUDWm
Last edited by: sooty tailpipes on Tue 26 Mar 13 at 11:01
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>> Simple solution is to ignore it.
That's what everybody's been doing Sooty. The Council are now enforcing with a camera and fines. As they're Council fines you cannot just ignore them - the Bailiff will come a visiting.
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I know the area, it's where I go for MOTs - they don't do repairs.
It's effectively a new town called the Wixams. Built largely on an old WW2 armaments base:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wixams
There used to be a decent scrapyard there.
A new A6 dual carriageway was built to the East, to enlarge the site and a bus/cycle lane seemed to follow the old route. It didn't seem to make much sense at the time, but I suppose the infrastructure for these things has to be installed early and it means buses won't have to keep hopping on and off the A6 when servicing the area.
The locals (MOT station goo.gl/maps/6yxvk ) told me years ago that everyone ignored the restrictions. I guess they're paying the price now.
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Those verges look quite wide. What is to prevent motorists from driving over the verges and back onto the road beyond the bus lane?
The story made my comic today. You don't have to read either that or the DM to see the council's little joke as a total outrage, two fingers stuck up to everyone. Where do these stinking brutes get their brass face from? I reckon they're all glue sniffers.
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What's really needed is one of those bollards that sink into the road when commanded by bus's on board transponder.
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Not needed Bromp, even the dimmest modern estate dweller knows not to trigger a £60 fine every time they take a short cut.
These outraged punters the DM trots out, are they for real or do they contact rent a crowd's professional aggrieved dept for a fully paid up union regd face?
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>> These outraged punters the DM trots out, are they for real or do they contact rent a crowd's professional aggrieved dept for a fully paid up union regd face?
Why don't you think it's outrageous gb? Anyone would, seems to me.
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The bus lane has been put in to allow easy uninterrupted access for the bus, if the bus has to negotiate the normal route it may well get held up in the usual scrum come peak times.
Maybe a problem for some maybe not, its possible the bus company might have been persuaded into providing extra services on the understanding such a route, free from normal car traffic, was being provided, none of us know the ins and outs of it all and the DM is the very last place i'd look for a fair article.
In this case i suspect some people have been taking the P, probably find a handful of selfish blighters have been using the route and holding the bus up at the road junction where it joins the A6 at peak times, or causing the bus to take evasive action on the legally restricted road.
When things like this get abused the big cosh comes down, it happens with so many things in life where if used quietly and sensibly they might well have carried on for years.
Its not something to be outraged about its a storm in a teacup, they got away with it for years now its over, so what?
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>> not something to be outraged about its a storm in a teacup, they got away with it for years now its over, so what?
You're right of course, it's pretty trivial. But what have people been 'getting away with'? Violating a bus lane used only twice a day by buses. Who outside the council wants this bus lane? Why does the council want it? Dog-in-the-manger behaviour.
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They've got away with using a bus lane illegally for years, whatever the rights and wrongs of the bus lane in the first place.
Did anyone complain about the bus lane before the camera went in?, or was it useful for detering the great unwashed whilst the locals used it as their own private queue jumping rat run.
Wonder if those same locals would have complained if the transporter drivers who deliver to the nearby BCA auction site decided to nip through there to jump the A6 queue (not on the same road but you get my point), would have been no more illegal one lorry loaded with 11 cars going through than 10 local cars, or would NIMBY rules have seen the DM article then showing death dealing juggernauts endangering our children on the school bus.
I understand your point AC, i'm no fan of petty rules either, just don't see why its been ok with the locals for 5 years (it appears) but suddenly its not ok now this very day.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Tue 26 Mar 13 at 14:41
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Your MOT man might be busy in the future BT. The current phase (Village 1) is just a small part of a 1000ac development with some 4500 homes, 5 new schools, shops, office/industrial parks and a new rail station. Probably be the usual disaster when a new community is attempted from scratch and swamps the local roads/infrastructure.
That short bus lane will be the least of folks concerns once the whole development is up and running.
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>> You're right of course, it's pretty trivial. But what have people been 'getting away with'?
>> Violating a bus lane used only twice a day by buses. Who outside the council
>> wants this bus lane? Why does the council want it? Dog-in-the-manger behaviour.
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As somebody points out upthread this is a new town built on a former military store. The intention, probably at the time the estate was laid out, was to prevent access to the A6 by this route. Planning? Anti rat run measure? Nimbys on that road? I don't know but there was intended to be a bar to all except the bus and perhaps other legitimate exceptions like the emergency services.
The bus runs twice an hour.
If folks don't like it they can complain/campaign.
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I dont really have any interest in this bus lane, the council, or the people who have been caught.
It is, however, a howling example of how thinly the Mail can spread the truth. How anyone can take this paper seriously is beyond me.
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>> It is, however, a howling example of how thinly the Mail can spread the truth.
>> How anyone can take this paper seriously is beyond me.
It is indeed Zeddo. And be under no illusion, it plays equally fast and loose with politics be it immigration, benefits or the health service.
But (and read the comments) people clearly absorb every word. As a result, even more than Murdoch, it pollutes our politics.
Last edited by: Webmaster on Thu 4 Apr 13 at 08:55
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Common around these parts.
You should see the chaos it causes when there's a cold snap with snow / ice unexpectedly. Come the start of the day, the first buses go out to find a load of them frozen solid in the "up" position.
If the forecast gets it right, they set the lot to "down", so that any that do get stuck stay that way.
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Come the start of the day ... solid in the "up" position.
I find the weather has very little to do with it.
};---)
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Wed 27 Mar 13 at 11:52
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>> Come the start of the day ... solid in the "up" position.
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>> I find the weather has very little to do with it.
>> };---)
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Ah, the Beest has awoken...
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Any bus lane is scam IMHO.
London alone might be an exception.
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Ah, the Beest has awoken.
Exactly, MD.
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Council scam or necessary? - Cliff Pope
