Bungling council unveils £1.5m bus lane... only it's too narrow for BUSES

Published 22nd Mar 2011

A bungling council has opened a £1.5million bus lane, only for it to go unused because drivers need specialist training to negotiate its tight corners.

The route along Harding's Way, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, has faced widespread criticism as nervous bus drivers are forced to drive at walking pace to make it through the narrow turns.

Norfolk County Council introduced the lane earlier this month, but stunned locals have instead branded it 'ludicrous' and 'not fit for purpose'.

The troublesome route between Wisbech Road and Boal Street in Kings Lynn was officially opened by West Norfolk Mayor Zipha Christopher on March 14, but has barely been used since.

Bus drivers training on the route constantly clip kerbs while slowly weaving through the extremely tight hairpin turns.

Brian Lake, 63, and David Pattingale, 69, cycle along the route each morning.

Mr Lake said: 'It's a farce. It took a driver and someone standing in the footwell to see the driver through the trial run.

'There are tyre marks on the kerb where it has squeezed through.'

Questions have also been raised over the need for double yellow lines on the route, which is used exclusively by buses and cyclists.

A spokesman for the council said the lines applied to maintenance vehicles which needed to use the route.

The 1.5 mile route passes a nearby primary school and there are fears that a child could be hurt as there is no pedestrian crossing on the bus lane.

The pavement narrows near to the pinch point and this is the area where children cross to get to school.

Whitefriars Primary School Headteacher Lee Stevens said: 'It's ludicrous. That's the busiest point in terms of pedestrian crossings.

'It's not fit for purpose.'

Mr Stevens said he saw a contractor's vehicle travelling through the narrow section of road and it was overhanging the pavement.

Ben Colson, managing director of Norfolk Green buses, which should use the route, said: 'We have got to do staff training on it and we are short on staff at the moment because of sickness.

'Fundamentally we haven't had the resource to be able to do the training.'

Mr Colson said rumours that drivers had refused to use the new route were 'totally untrue'.

Quentin Brogdale, project engineer for Norfolk County Council, apologised for any inconvenience caused.

He said the project had to be finished this month, or there was a risk its funding could be clawed back by the Government.

This meant the lane was built while negotiations continued on buying a small piece of private land to one side.

Mr Brogdale said: 'We had expected the area to be tight for buses however, now that they have started to test the route, we have discovered that they are having particular difficulty negotiating the narrow point and some are scraping the kerb.

'This means that we had to delay the opening of the route while we worked with the bus company to find a solution.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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