Agenda item

Report attached

The report before the Committee detailed responses to a consultation for the provision of fully accessible bus stops along Chase Cross Road

The report detailed that improvements to the bus stop environment such as raising kerbs, relaying footway surfaces, providing short footway links to stops and (in exceptional circumstances) providing pedestrian crossing facilities would  help with making bus stops fully accessible to all people. In some situations, it may be appropriate to build the footway out into the road to provide an accessible bus stop, although this would only be appropriate where carriageways are very wide.

The introduction of bus stop clearways also improved the accessibility of bus stops by providing sufficient space for buses to pull in close to the kerb.

The proposals for accessibility improvements along Chase Cross Road had been developed for various bus stops as set out in the report.

By the close of consultation on 9 July 2014, seven responses were received as set out in Appendix I of the report. One response included a petition of approximately 200 signatures in opposition to one of the proposals.

London Buses and the Metropolitan Police Traffic Unit raised no issues in relation to the proposals.

A resident raised concern about having to turning round the bus shelter on the stop to the flank of 1 Irons Way (Drawing QN008-OF-A01/02-A, towards Collier Row) because of the narrow footway.

Five respondents and the petition objected to the proposal to relocate the bus stop from outside 101/103 to outside the Baptist Church (Drawing QN008-OF-A01/02-A, towards Havering-atte-Bower and the Hill Rise Estate.

In Officer’s view, the stop to the flank of 1 Irons Way, the footway was at least 2.3metres in width which was considered sufficient. The reoriented shelter would make it easier for people to walk past the bus stop where they were currently hemmed in by the shelter and a high fence. Members were informed that the decisions on works to shelters remain that of London Buses.

The current bus stop outside 101/103 cannot be made accessible, even for the front loading doors of a bus because of the adjacent vehicle crossings serving the residents on either side of the stop.

The location outside the Baptist Church was selected because it provided the longest section of footway within which a high kerb could be provided and also made the spacing between the preceding and next stops about equal.

Staff are content that the location was safe and as in any other case, drivers had a responsibility to react appropriately to road conditions and it might mean very short term congestion while a bus loads/unloads.

The Committee was asked to consider the various issues raised and balance them against the Council’s general duty to make the highway network accessible. In terms of impacts, officers would suggest that the effect on the car spares business should carry most weight. There may be an alternative to the Baptist Church, but the Committee would note that objections are likely to be forthcoming with any proposal.

During the general debate Members discussed the representations received objecting to the relocation of the bus stop to outside the Baptist Church. Members raised concerns over the practicality of the relocation taking account of the impact on attendees of the Church and vehicular access to the Church. 

A Member explained that he had spent time on site with residents looking at the proposal outside the Baptist Church. He felt the proposal was raised issues for drop offs/ pickups by the church particularly with the number of children that use the venue.  The Member stated that if the scheme were to be implemented people would need to be dropped off and picked up on the opposite side of the road to the Church which raised safety concerns with crossing the road. The Member also raised concerns over the effect of the proposal on the operations of a local business. The Member felt that an alternative location needed to be looked at.

It was suggested that a better location for the bus stop would be outside No.123.

A Member stated that moving the stop towards the existing zebra crossing would be preferable for safety reasons.

The Committee RESOLVED:

To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Environment

1. That the bus stop accessibility improvements set out in the report and shown on the following drawings be implemented:

·         QN008-OF-A01/A02-A (bus stop towards Collier Row only)

·         QN008-OF-A03/A04-A

·         QN008-OF-A05-A

·         QN008-OF-A06-A

2. That in relation to the proposed relocation of the bus stop from outside 101/103 Chase Cross to outside the Baptist Church as shown on Drawing QN008-OF-A01/A02-A (stop towards Havering-atte-Bower/ Hill Rise Estate), the Committee having considered the representations recommend that

(b)       The proposal be rejected and the Head of Streetcare investigates any other possibilities, notwithstanding the general lack of kerb space to create accessible stops.

3.  That it be noted that the estimated cost of £24,000 for implementation would be met by Transport for London through the 2014/15 Local Implementation Plan allocation for Bus Stop Accessibility.