Difficulties on Harlesden Station bridge

[Deleted]

To begin with, may I point out that the bridge on Acton Lane NW10 at Harlesden Station forms the border between the London Boroughs of Brent and Ealing.
On the Brent side, there are railings on the pavement all the way along on both sides of the road meaning that only one bus at a time can pull up at the stop (both sides of the road).
That is not so bad except that on this fairly narrow stretch of road, Brent Council have two sets of bollards in the centre of the road. This means that nothing can get past if two or more buses are waiting at one of the Harlesden Station stops.
Is there any way to submit a formal appeal to get these bollards removed or else resited if they are somehow considered essential?
As for the railings, why are they needed on one side of the bridge but not the other?
Traffic would flow much more smoothly on this stretch of road if both bollards and railings were removed

[snoggle]

Sept 19, 2013 11:46:43 GMT @harlesden said:

To begin with, may I point out that the bridge on Acton Lane NW10 at Harlesden Station forms the border between the London Boroughs of Brent and Ealing.
On the Brent side, there are railings on the pavement all the way along on both sides of the road meaning that only one bus at a time can pull up at the stop (both sides of the road).
That is not so bad except that on this fairly narrow stretch of road, Brent Council have two sets of bollards in the centre of the road. This means that nothing can get past if two or more buses are waiting at one of the Harlesden Station stops.
Is there any way to submit a formal appeal to get these bollards removed or else resited if they are somehow considered essential?
As for the railings, why are they needed on one side of the bridge but not the other?
Traffic would flow much more smoothly on this stretch of road if both bollards and railings were removed

Having looked on Streetview I would turn the question round and ask you how people would cross the road *safely* if what you called bollards, and I call a traffic island, were removed. The railings are clearly there to stop people crossing willy nilly on a curved and humped road where visibility will be less than ideal. "Smoothing traffic" is not the overriding need in London given road traffic levels are declining. We do also need to consider and balance the needs for people to cross roads safely. The problem with any bus interchange by a railway station is that if people see a bus approaching or at a stop when they leave the station they will run for it. At Harlesden a decision has clearly been taken to impose some discipline on pedestrians to ensure they cross at a designated point with a mid crossing refuge. I suspect there would be far more accidents if your proposal was adopted.

On a personal note I'm not a huge fan of endless pedestrian barriers but I accept they are sometimes needed. I am less of a fan of the "fashionable" road design ethos that removes the distinction between pavement and roadway - it's dangerous and confusing. I also don't want roads to have so much traffic and high speed that it is impossible to cross them.