New Accrington Bus Station

[Margaret Pilkington]

I'm sure there will be someone on here in a minute Cashy who will tell me why this is a non starter.......but it would make sense to me(what the hell do I know?)

[shillelagh]

from someone who uses the buses 99% of the time .. ok if i can sweet talk my brother or sisters to take me shopping i will do ... but most of the time im on the bus ... and i get off the bus .. kiosk for my fags, nosy into wilkies round the market for my sweeties and sometimes food and other stuff, wander over to M&S and the arndale ... and then sometimes have wander up peel street .. sometimes i cant be bothered to hike it up to tesco or over to morrisons as it is now .. due to i cant carry heavy loads of shopping .. so to me a bus station is better to be in the centre of town near the shops/market ... if they move it i can see me going the other way .. to rawtenstall .. and accy losing out ...

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by cashman

Sod wasting dosh on idiot consultants, Margaret P, has just give yehs the answer fer nowt.

Pleased can I have a brownie point too ? I touched on a similar idea in post #21, being a man of course I cut my words down to the minimum

[Margaret Pilkington]

Jen, anyone with half a brain can work out that the bus station needs to be near the shopping centre to be effective. The ones who don't recognise this need are the ones who never travel by bus to do their shopping.

[cashman]

Nah jen Accy gains if yeh sod off oer the "Rocker"

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by shillelagh

and then sometimes have wander up peel street .. ..

I've just changed my vote, move it to Union st

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Pleased can I have a brownie point too ? I touched on a similar idea in post #21, being a man of course I cut my words down to the minimum

Of course you can...it was a similar idea.......great minds think alike!
And I put something similar in post number 7

[walkinman221]

Another problem i see that is connected to this issue is the buses themselves, when you go abroad to say,Spain the bus you travel on is clean air conditioned and is of the twenty first century not something that has Noah was ere written on the back of its seats.The laws on taxis are quite stringent if badly enforced ,but buses seem to be getting older and there seem to be more wrecks riding about, a new bus station would be a good thing if the vehicles using it didnt look as though they belonged in a museum and i think that would encourage more people to use the public transport system.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by walkinman221

Another problem i see that is connected to this issue is the buses themselves, when you go abroad to say,Spain the bus you travel on is clean air conditioned and is of the twenty first century not something that has Noah was ere written on the back of its seats.The laws on taxis are quite stringent if badly enforced ,but buses seem to be getting older and there seem to be more wrecks riding about, a new bus station would be a good thing if the vehicles using it didnt look as though they belonged in a museum and i think that would encourage more people to use the public transport system.

couldn't think what the buses reminded me of, cheers walkinman, its like those in Malta.

[shillelagh]

Originally Posted by cashman

couldn't think what the buses reminded me of, cheers walkinman, its like those in Malta.

not now cashy ....

BBC News - Malta's colourful vintage buses bow out

[cashman]

Originally Posted by shillelagh

not now cashy ....

BBC News - Malta's colourful vintage buses bow out

ok i aint been fer 20 yrs or so, but whilst rickety n dropping to bits, they were always spotless, can remember one i was on breaking down on a big hill/mountain n driver,shifting us from our seats n getting his tools out from underneath, 10 mins later the bus was running again. loved it n the maltezers.

[Alan Varrechia]

The Maltese ones are all privatly owned, like taxi's over here. Perhaps Max's taxi's are up to something... Apparantly up to the change in Malta, if it's yellow runs and you get a licence you are a one man bus company.

[phil8715]

Peel Street bus station is well located (for shops etc) but at times chaotic, sometimes buses have to double park when they stop in the stand sometimes in the middle of the road, and the road surface is terrible and can be hard to cross at times.

I would have liked to have seen a rail bus interchange like at Nelson. It woudn't have been that hard to do, where Tesco is, utilise one of the levels of the carpark into a bus station

Personally I would back a return of the tram. And extend the network through Hyndburn.

[rishtongirl]

I live in Rishton and travel by bus when I go out. I use a walking stick to get around, as I am unsteady on my feet. I can get to Blackburn easier than I can get to Accrington, as the buses are more frequent and reliable, and actually manage a lunchtime service. Have you tried catching a bus from Rishton to Accrington at lunchtime? The number 2 runs at 11.30 then nothing until 13.30 and the 241 hospital bus seems to make up its own timetable. They are my only two options, unless I get the 152 to the Hare and Hounds, then another bus to Accrington from there.

Going to Blackburn gives me a direct bus every half hour (approximately) with a reasonably straightforward journey and easy access to the Mall, Morrisons, etc. It's just a short walk to the bus stop and onto the 152 home.

The buses to Blackburn are usually easily accessible with my stick, the ones to Accrington are generally less accessible - particularly with the number 2 bus. The driver is patient and friendly, but the bus is old and in need of replacement, IMHO.

If I get to Accrington, then I find that lots of the shops are closed, and some of the streets are quite difficult to walk down, as my stick can hamper my progress. I am not particularly concerned as to the location of any proposed bus station site, as I am about the accessibility, and frequency of the buses. A state of the art bus station is of little use if the buses don't go my way, and I can't get in and out of the station, or on and off the buses, due to lack of access.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

The Market is dismal.......put the stalls inside the market hall and free up the space for a bus station.......or put the Market on Broadway and have the current market and the front of the Market hall for the bus station.
I am sure there must be better ways to deal with the problem than have the bus station all the way down Union Street....this will take trade further away from the town centre...although Tesco would probably like this better.

Talking to some foreigners recently about this. Actually from Helmshore, and not regular visitors to Accrington.

They said the market hadn't been as good, or as vibrant, as when it was temporarily sited on Broadway, whilst they built Toy Town/Wilkinson's.

The market at the side of the Market Hall should be shifted, Thus freeing up any number of bays for buses. Just as it used to be.

God forbid, if the market once again thrives, doubtful though that is, after all the meddling 'improvements', then any extra stalls could be accommodated quite easily on Broadway.

Another bonus being that there would be less room for any (expensive) flash mob dancers to strut their feeble thing.