UK council unveils bus lane too narrow for buses
A UK council is under fire for spending £1.5 million ($2.5 million) on a bus lane, only for drivers to find it is not wide enough for buses. Residents of King's Lynn in Norfolk, eastern England, branded the project "farcical" after drivers discovered they have to navigate the route at walking pace because it is so narrow, Lynn News reported.
The road has not been used since it was unveiled earlier this month because the drivers will need special training to use it, and there is no one available to train them.
Brian Lake, 63, cycles along the route each morning. He said, "It's a farce. It took a driver and someone standing in the footwell to see the driver through the pinch point on the trial run. There are tyre marks on the kerb where it has squeezed through."
Lee Stevens, the principal of nearby Whitefriars Primary School, added, "It's ludicrous. That's the busiest point in terms of pedestrian crossings. It's not fit for [the] purpose."
The road has not been used since it was unveiled earlier this month because the drivers will need special training to use it, and there is no one available to train them.
Brian Lake, 63, cycles along the route each morning. He said, "It's a farce. It took a driver and someone standing in the footwell to see the driver through the pinch point on the trial run. There are tyre marks on the kerb where it has squeezed through."
Lee Stevens, the principal of nearby Whitefriars Primary School, added, "It's ludicrous. That's the busiest point in terms of pedestrian crossings. It's not fit for [the] purpose."
The Norfolk County Council project engineer behind the venture, Quentin Brogdale, apologised for the state of the road. He reasoned that the project had to be finished this month or there was a risk the government could retract funding for it.
This meant the lane was being built while negotiations were being carried out on buying a small piece of private land to one side of the lane that would enable it to be widened.
Ben Colson, managing director of Norfolk Green buses, which should use the route, 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."
Read more of this story about the bus lane in Lynn News.
This meant the lane was being built while negotiations were being carried out on buying a small piece of private land to one side of the lane that would enable it to be widened.
Ben Colson, managing director of Norfolk Green buses, which should use the route, 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."
Read more of this story about the bus lane in Lynn News.
Yep this sounds about right.
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