Camden Council proposes improvements to two of the bus stops on the C11 bus route:
• The southbound bus stop on Westbere Road, north of Mill Lane.
• The westbound bus stop outside 22-30 Mill Lane.
Two options are proposed:
Option 1
Relocate the existing bus stop on Westbere Road from the curved section of the road to
outside 2-6 Westbere Road. This would include moving 25 metres of residents’ parking from the
northeast side of the road to the location of the existing
bus stop.
Option 2
Rebuild and extend the straight section of the bus stop and raise the kerb, so that buses
can get near to the pavement and the ramp can be used. This option would include changing
parts of the pavements, on the east side, to road.
Click here to see the consultation leaflet LB Camden has hidden the file and we don’t have a copy
CCC’s response
Camden Cycling Campaign is not happy with either option, as explained below. We would prefer a slightly modified version of Option 2.
Option 1
Option 1 puts the bus stop near the top of the hill, where attempting to overtake a stopped bus could create dangers from poor sightlines. The bus stop would be 50 cms wider than the current parked cars. The visibility will
be much worse with the stop there, for all traffic, not just cyclists.
However, this option would also mean the loss of the Bus Stop Clearway
which presently allows cyclists to exit Sarre Road without having to pull
out into the main stream of traffic. In this option, the area currently
occupied by the clearway gets converted into parking, so would not usually be available for cyclists
Option 2
Option 2 involves the least change. Also it is better for most passengers to keep the stop at the bottom of the hill. But Option 2 partly undoes the entry treatment that was put there only recently, and puts the stop closer to the junction (maybe about 11 m).
Also, two sections of pavement build-out will be removed for Option 2. One of these will mean that pedestrians crossing the junction at Mill Lane will have further to go, with reduced visibility around any bus at the stop.
Suggestion for Option 2
According to the consultation document, the reason for the proposed changes is to allow buses to pull up on a straight length of kerb, to help with disabled access. As shown in the drawing for Option 2, removing the pavement buildout at the corner with Sarre Rd means that the existing bus stop would be against a straight bit of kerb, without having to move the stop.
That is, neither option is as good as a compromise between them, in which the stop is left more or less where it is, but the pavement is removed at the
Sarre Rd junction to allow the buses to align properly with the kerb.
