| Topic: | Would opening bus lanes make any difference? (2) | |
| Posted by: | Andrew OSullivan | |
| Date/Time: | 10/03/15 09:13:00 |
| Responding to anti-bus rhetoric with anti-car rhetoric might help some people pass the time of day at the expense of their employer but it doesn't really get us anywhere. The points I made about how some selected bus lane suspensions might have significantly helped seemed to have been completely ignored by those who believe that traffic is the fault of people in the traffic and who should therefore be punished for the impertinence of driving at the wrong time. The eastbound stretch of Chiswick High Road to the west of Acton Lane has a bus lane along one side until about 200m before the lights at the junction. The left hand lane then becomes a filter for traffic turning left into Acton Lane. My observations at the weekend were that a significant proportion of the vehicles queueing to get through the lights at this junction wished to turn left but were constrained from doing so because of the bus lane. This caused extra delays for all the traffic in this lane INCLUDING BUSES none of which turn left at this point so are forced to join the queue. It was traffic backing up from this set of lights that seemed to cause most of the delays going back to Chiswick Roundabout. Beyond the lights traffic was relatively light. The tailbacks appear to have interfered with the flow of vehicles off the north circular as well because it was difficult for drivers to get off Chiswick Roundabout onto CHR. A suspension of the bus lane either from Wickes or Halfords would have substantially improved the flow of traffic at this junction. Any extension of journey time for buses by the loss of the short stretch of bus lane would have been outweighed many times over by the reduced delays at the traffic lights. When I was observing this section a small number of vehicles did pull out into the bus lane to join the left hand filter. If there is a camera at this point - which I suspect there will be - they will be fined. Ironically the manoeuvre was one that would have helped reduce bus journey times although I doubt this would be considered during any appeal. Why did Hounslow Council not consider suspending the bus lane at this point? Well, it is certainly not crazy to suggest that on the road in the country that raises the most fines from motorists that they may have been putting revenue considerations before those of road users. They responded with alacrity to the closure of Hammersmith flyover by introducing a range of measures that were highly revenue positive and if anything made the traffic problems worse so it is notable that nothing was done in this instance. Although protection of revenue was probably a factor I'm inclined to think that this had more to do with Hounslow and TfL being unable to come to an agreement about how costs would be shared and therefore doing nothing became the comfortable option. Whatever you believe it seems clear to me that this isn't a situation where the service providers deserve the unequivocal support that some people seem to unthinkingly give them. |