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www.stokegiffordjournal.co.uk
t: 01454 300 400
March 2020
News
Left: Temporary bus stop sign was just an A4 poster tied to a fence. Right: Temporary bike rack of a design considered inadequate by police.
R Strong communities powered by people t: 01454 868570 e: office@southernbrooks.org.uk w: www.southernbrooks.org.uk
ailway passengers who use bus services or bicycles to access Bristol Parkway have expressed frustration at the impact of bus stop improvements works that started without warning in the forecourt of the busy station on Monday 3rd February. Passengers arriving by rail have been confronted by metres of ‘Heras’ metal fencing surrounding the bus stop area and inadequate signage directing them to two temporary stops half-way down the exit road. Six days into the work, one frustrated passenger tweeted: “Please can you place some clear signage at Bristol Parkway advising where the buses are going to stop during the works – there’s a lot of confused people wandering around.” Passengers arriving by bicycle found the extensive two-tier bike
storage facility at the station rendered inaccessible by the works, with just a small row of “wheel grabber” racks offered as replacement. Cyclists complained that these racks of this design don’t easily allow a secure D-lock to be used and aren’t suitable for wide-tyred bikes. More substantial and secure temporary bike racks appeared at the station during the third week of the works, but not before one frustrated cyclist who contacted the Journal had spent £700 on a fold-up bike so she could avoid having to leave her original bike inadequately secured. No information about the scope of the bus stop work or its duration is on display at the station and passengers who made enquiries at the ticket office were told that it was “council MetroBus works and nothing to do with GWR [the train operator
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