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Post by thelondonthing on Mar 24, 2020 9:51:21 GMT
If you were hoping that this thread was about bus stands situated in so-called 'less desirable' parts of our magnificent capital, you've come to the wrong place. None of that here! Rather, this thread is intended to highlight poorly situated bus stands; those stands that could have done with a bit more careful planning. The worst example of this that I know of is the stand at the southern terminus of route H25, at Hanworth, Butts Farm. The stand is extremely unusual in that it's positioned within the central island of a two-way road; but what makes its location so problematic is that buses tend to end up parking right up against the give-way line into another road. If you're in a car approaching the stand on Churchfields Avenue, and you want to turn right while there's a bus on stand, you may end up with a serious blind spot, as the bus completely obscures the view of Saxon Avenue to the right. Motorists attempting to turn would potentially have to roll their vehicle out into the path of oncoming traffic before they're able to see if it's safe to make the turn. Attachment DeletedSome may argue that bus drivers should park their buses more mindfully here. But the bus stand flag is right at the junction of the two roads; if anything, the positioning of the stand - rather than the drivers' parking - is surely the bigger problem. Personally, I would categorize the positioning of this particular stand as not just ill-considered, but potentially dangerous. Other examples of badly positioned stands include 'East Sheen, Queen's Road' - which is literally six feet away from the front gate of a primary school (hardly the safest environment for buses to be manoeuvring with young, excited, distracted children running around); and the 'Tooting, St George's Hospital' terminus - where, if more than one 493 is on stand, any G1 buses serving the stop behind the stand are forced to block traffic into the hospital while boarding/alighting passengers. Do you know of any other examples of bus stands in bad places? Whether they're perilously close to a junction, blocking a bus lane, or positioned in just the right place to block traffic, I'm sure there must be a few other stands that aren't in the best of locations. |
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Post by galwhv69 on Mar 24, 2020 9:56:15 GMT
Only a problem 2 times a week but the K3 stand at Roehampton Vale Asda as a 969 has the block the road to let passengers alight if a K3 is on stand
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Post by LondonNorthern on Mar 24, 2020 10:03:34 GMT
198 stands in Thornton Heath
Old 343 stand at City Hall
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Post by Trafalgax on Mar 24, 2020 10:04:44 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That U-turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out.
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Post by greenboy on Mar 24, 2020 10:10:05 GMT
198 stands in Thornton Heath Old 343 stand at City Hall The 198 stand has always been problematical, at least it is only used by one route nowadays. I'd also nominate the 127/131/333 Tooting Broadway stand. |
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Post by thelondonthing on Mar 24, 2020 10:22:05 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That right turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out. I've never encountered the 279 stand so I had to look it up. I can't quite believe I'm asking this... but does the 279 literally do a U-turn - across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC - from the stand to the first stop on route? I'm not at all familiar with the 279, so I'm basing my question entirely on the pitiful amount of knowledge I've quickly gleaned of the area from Google Maps. Surely, surely, that can't be right. Can it?!  |
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Post by thelondonthing on Mar 24, 2020 10:31:18 GMT
198 stands in Thornton Heath Old 343 stand at City Hall The 198 stand has always been problematical, at least it is only used by one route nowadays. I'd also nominate the 127/131/333 Tooting Broadway stand. OMG yes, the Tooting Broadway stand on Longmead Road is insane. Everything just about functions until the very smallest disruption to services, at which point you suddenly end up with a dozen buses queuing up and spilling out on to Mitcham Road, all trying to park or turn around in what is essentially the area of a small roundabout crammed down a suburban side-road. |
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Post by danorak on Mar 24, 2020 10:34:39 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That right turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out. I've never encountered the 279 stand so I had to look it up. I can't quite believe I'm asking this... but does the 279 literally do a U-turn - across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC - from the stand to the first stop on route? I'm not at all familiar with the 279, so I'm basing my question entirely on the pitiful amount of knowledge I've quickly gleaned of the area from Google Maps. Surely, surely, that can't be right. Can it?! Pretty much. I've only seen it done in real life when I was at the Routemaster event in Finsbury Park and was surprised that it continued (I may be wrong but I think it's a throwback to trolleybus days). |
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Post by thelondonthing on Mar 24, 2020 10:36:18 GMT
I've never encountered the 279 stand so I had to look it up. I can't quite believe I'm asking this... but does the 279 literally do a U-turn - across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC - from the stand to the first stop on route? I'm not at all familiar with the 279, so I'm basing my question entirely on the pitiful amount of knowledge I've quickly gleaned of the area from Google Maps. Surely, surely, that can't be right. Can it?! Pretty much. I've only seen it done in real life when I was at the Routemaster event in Finsbury Park and was surprised that it continued (I may be wrong but I think it's a throwback to trolleybus days). Wow. That's genuinely mad!  |
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Post by greenboy on Mar 24, 2020 10:37:09 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That right turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out. I'm surprised traffic lights haven't been installed like the Old Vic stand at Waterloo. |
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Post by vjaska on Mar 24, 2020 10:59:17 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That right turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out. I've never encountered the 279 stand so I had to look it up. I can't quite believe I'm asking this... but does the 279 literally do a U-turn - across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC - from the stand to the first stop on route? I'm not at all familiar with the 279, so I'm basing my question entirely on the pitiful amount of knowledge I've quickly gleaned of the area from Google Maps. Surely, surely, that can't be right. Can it?! From my limited experience, that stretch of road isn't too busy to be problematic to 279's - once your in the central reservation, it's effectively the same as turning out of a side road onto a one way road. |
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Post by wirewiper on Mar 24, 2020 11:07:36 GMT
I've never encountered the 279 stand so I had to look it up. I can't quite believe I'm asking this... but does the 279 literally do a U-turn - across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC - from the stand to the first stop on route? I'm not at all familiar with the 279, so I'm basing my question entirely on the pitiful amount of knowledge I've quickly gleaned of the area from Google Maps. Surely, surely, that can't be right. Can it?! From my limited experience, that stretch of road isn't too busy to be problematic to 279's - once your in the central reservation, it's effectively the same as turning out of a side road onto a one way road. It's a turn which, if proposed today, would probably not be sanctioned. However it has existed ever since trolleybus route 623 was introduced in October 1936 so presumably has "Grandfather Rights". It's also a movement that would be well known and familiar to road users in the area. |
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Post by wirewiper on Mar 24, 2020 11:09:03 GMT
The 279 at Manor House is a bad one. That right turn can be dangerous especially if there’s a lot of traffic. They need to sort that out. ^^^ See my comments in the post above. |
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Post by vjaska on Mar 24, 2020 11:31:56 GMT
From my limited experience, that stretch of road isn't too busy to be problematic to 279's - once your in the central reservation, it's effectively the same as turning out of a side road onto a one way road. It's a turn which, if proposed today, would probably not be sanctioned. However it has existed ever since trolleybus route 623 was introduced in October 1936 so presumably has "Grandfather Rights". It's also a movement that would be well known and familiar to road users in the area. Yeah, I'd imagine it wouldn't be sanctioned today. Someone suggested a traffic light system similar to Waterloo Road & Honor Oak which could very much work if it proved too much of an issue. |
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Post by george on Mar 24, 2020 11:37:34 GMT
You mentioned the East Sheen stand being close to a primary school, another one that is really close to a school is the Castelnau stand for routes 33,209 and 485. The buses park right next to the playing fields of ST Paul's School.
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