Consultation on possible changes to bus B14
Consultation Report March 2014
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Consultation on possible changes to bus B14 Consultation Report
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Contents
1 Introduction ...... 2 2 The consultation ...... 2 3 Responses from members of the public ...... 4 4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders ...... 8
Appendices Appendix A – Copy of the consultation letter ...... 9 Appendix B – Letter distribution area ...... 12 Appendix C – List of stakeholders consulted ...... 12
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1 Introduction
Route B14 runs between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Orpington Station on Mondays to Saturdays and during the daytime on Sundays, generally every 30 minutes.
We recently consulted stakeholders and the public on a proposal to re-route the B14 at Albany Park. The scheme proposed that the B14 would run from Bexley Lane, travel along Royal Road, Maylands Drive, Kimberley Drive and Longmead Drive. It would no longer serve Onslow Drive. The consultation took place from 13 January to 21 February 2014.
The current routeing was originally put in place as a temporary measure in 2008, due to safety concerns over the difficulty of the bus making the turn from Longmead Drive onto Bexley Lane. The layout of this junction has now been altered to make the turn easier and safer for road users. The route was diverted to take this proposed route earlier in 2013 and comments were received to maintain the diverted route.
This report explains the background to the scheme, the consultation and summarises the responses. It will contribute to the decision on whether to go ahead with the proposed scheme or not. All views will be considered in the decision making process.
2 The consultation
The consultation was designed to enable us to understand opinions about the proposed change to route B14 and help inform our final decision making.
The potential outcomes of the consultation are: • We decide the consultation raises no issues that should prevent us from proceeding with the scheme as originally planned. • We modify the scheme in response to issues raised in consultation • We abandon the scheme as a result of issues raised in the consultation.
2.1 Consultation objectives The objectives of the consultation were: • To give stakeholders and the public easily-understandable information about the proposals and allow them to respond • To understand the level of support or opposition for the change • To understand any issues that might affect the proposal of which we were not previously aware • To understand concerns and objections • To allow respondents to make suggestions.
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2.2 Who we consulted The public consultation intended to seek the views of people who live near to the proposed route, current users of the service and other potential users. We also consulted stakeholders including the affected Councils, traffic police, London TravelWatch, Members of Parliament, Assembly Members and local interest groups.
A list of the stakeholders we consulted is shown in Appendix C and a summary of their responses is given in Section 4.
2.3 Consultation material, distribution and publicity A letter and map explaining the proposed re-route was distributed to approximately 1,479 local residents and businesses. A copy of this letter is shown in Appendix A and a map of the distribution area can be found in Appendix B. The letter was also emailed to stakeholders, as well as being available online through the TfL consultation website.
We invited people to respond to the consultation by emailing us at [email protected] or by using the our freepost address FREEPOST TFL CONSULTATIONS as well as filling in our online form at https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/B14
We asked seven specific questions, a free text response box was available for further comments.
A map showing the existing bus route and proposed re-route was put up on 20 lamp posts along the hail and ride section of the B14 route in Albany Park.
2.4 Meetings and site visits We contacted the London Borough of Bexley’s transport planning team and informed them of the proposed scheme before the consultation started.
2.5 General response There were 55 responses in total. Of these, 53 were from members of the public and 2 from stakeholders. There were 33 responses (60%) which were supportive of the proposals, 21 (38%) which opposed the proposals and 1 (1%) who neither supported nor opposed the proposals. We also received one petition with 12 signatures opposing the proposals.
The main issues raised by respondents against the re-routeing included concerns about a longer walk to access bus services and a potential increase in congestion on Longmead Drive / Bexley Lane. The main issues raised by respondents against the two fixed stops included concerns about congestion and stops outside properties.
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3 Responses from members of the public
A total number of 53 consultation responses were received from members of the public, 5 by email and 31 online and 17 by post, see chart below.
Response type 60
40
20
0 Online Email Post Total Number of 31 5 17 53 replies
3.1 Consultation results To help us understand people’s views we asked seven specific questions. The results are shown in the tables below.
Question one
Do you currently use route B14?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 Yes No Not answered Total Number of replies 38 13 2 53
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Question two
How often do you use route B14? 60
50
40
30
20
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0 2-3 times a Not Daily Weekly Less To tal month answered Number of replies 14 13 6 18 2 53
Question three
How would the re-routeing affect your journey?
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50
40
30
20
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0 Make it Make it No Not Not sure To tal quicker longer change Answered Number of replies 13 6 27 5 2 53
Question four 5
Do you currently get on or off the bus on Onslow Drive?
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50
40
30
20
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0 Yes No Not Answered To tal Number of replies 12 39 2 53
Question five
Do you support the re-routeing of the B14 at Albany Park? 60
50
40
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0 Yes No Not Answered Total Number of replies 31 21 1 53
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Question six
Would you like to see the hail and ride section around Albany Park converted to fixed bus stops? 60
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0 Yes No Not sure Not answered Total Number of replies 12 31 7 3 53
Question seven
Do you agree with the two new bus stops?
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40
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20
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0 Yes No Not sure Not answered Total Number of replies 25 16 9 3 53
We asked respondents whether they had any comments about our proposal. Of the 53 responses, 34 provided comments. The table overleaf summarises the views and suggestions made. A separate document will respond to the main points raised by respondents.
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Number of times issue Issue raised Parking bay opposite proposed fixed stop outside 14/16 Longmead Drive will cause congestion 9 Leave route as it is 4 Have the same route southbound as northbound 2 Poor road surface on Onslow Drive 2 Already difficult to exit right out of Longmead Drive 2 Fixed stops will devalue properties 2 Increase the frequency 1 Serve more of Albany Park 1 Have bus stops closer to Sidcup B&Q 1 Divert route 51 through Albany Park 1 Fixed bus stops instead of hail and ride is a waste of money 1 Divert route 286 through Albany Park 1 Better signage to Albany Park station 1 Hail and ride is confusing 1 Reliability issues 1 No bus stop outside 62/64 Longmead Drive, have on Kimberley Drive instead 1 Scrap bus completely 1 Poor road surface on Royal Road 1
4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders
Two stakeholder responses were received, a summary of their responses is below:
Local Agenda 21 (LA21), Bexley Supportive. Would like to see the new proposals implemented.
Royal Park Residents Association Generally supportive. Supportive of the two new fixed bus stops, would like to see shelters put in too. Prefer that the hail and ride remains in other parts of Albany Park.
There was no formal response from Bexley Council though discussions with borough officers indicate they are supportive of the proposals.
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Appendix A – Copy of the consultation letter
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Digital Map Data (c) Collins Bartholomew Ltd (2014)
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Appendix B – Letter distribution area
Digital Map Data (c) Collins Bartholomew Ltd (2014)
Appendix C – List of stakeholders consulted
London TravelWatch
Elected Members Darren Johnson AM Gareth Bacon AM Jenny Jones AM Murad Qureshi AM Nicky Gavron AM Valerie Shawcross AM Richard Tracey AM Caroline Pidgeon AM Andrew Boff AM Victoria Borwick AM Tom Copley AM Stephen Knight AM Fiona Twycross AM James Cleverly AM James Brokenshire MP David Evennett MP
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Teresa Pearce MP
Local Authorities London Borough of Bexley
Police & Health Authorities Metropolitan Police Bexley Safer Transport Team London Ambulance Service
Local Interest Groups Royal Park Residents Association Jaquets Court Residents Association North Cray Residents Association Royal Park Primary School The Parish of St Andrew
Transport Groups Association of British Drivers Association of Car Fleet Operators Freight Transport Association Campaign for Better Transport AA Motoring Trust
Other Stakeholders Age Concern London Age UK Asian Peoples Disabilities Alliance BT Confederation of British Industry (CBI) CTC, the national cycling charity Disability Alliance Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee EDF Energy Gallions Housing Association Greater London Forum for the Elderly Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People (JCMBPS) Joint Mobility Unit Living Streets London Cycling Campaign London Older People's Strategy Group MIND National Children's Bureau National Grid RADAR London Access Forum RNIB RNID Royal Mail
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Sense Sixty Plus Stroke Association Thames Water The British Dyslexia Association
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