A bus driver’s plea to the selfish motorists in Cranleigh.

 Waverley Web wonders what this bus driver’s view is on the changes Surrey County Council propose to “improve’ Cranleigh’s gridlocked High Street.

You can see all the proposed changes on the link below and a plea from a bus driver. 

I drive on your local 53 and 63 services. This is not meant as a moan but more of an explanation.
As bus drivers, we get frustrated when drivers feel that they can park at our pull-in bus stops, especially the ones in Stocklund Square in Cranleigh.
We need to be able to get our buses to the curb to allow passengers, especially those who are less able board our buses safely. When there are cars and vans in the bus stop, we can only do this by pulling into the bus stop at a sharp angle which unfortunately leaves the rear of the bus obstructing the traffic trying to pass. Pull-in bus stops aim to ensure that traffic is not held up.
As I understand it, a driver found parked in this pull-in bus stop is likely to get 3 points on their licence and up to a £1000 fine.
So please be considerate when parking in Cranleigh and don’t park at the bus stops, and remember we still run buses through Cranleigh until after 11 pm.
Thank you in advance for your help with this matter.

Post Office open space improvements – or

How to kill off the post office?

Like Fountain Square, the space outside the Post Office on the High Street could be used more effectively to benefit Cranleigh residents.  

Improvements being suggested include: 

  • pedestrianize the area outside the Post Office
  • change the existing mini roundabout on Village Way road into a raised priority junction 
  • improving pedestrian crossings in key places
  • wider and repaved pavements
  • new cycle facilities
  • junction improvements with raised tables
  • seating areas for residents to meet and relax
  • planting and greenery
  • localized flood alleviation measures such as rain gardens

The proposed changes will remove some of the on-street parking, but the number of Blue Badge parking spaces will remain the same.

A recent parking survey conducted on Stocklund and Village Way car parks showed they were only filled to 50% capacity on a weekday and 75% on the weekend, so we believe there will still be plenty of car parking spaces in the village.

We’ve provided detailed plans below and artist’s illustrations of how this area could look. Please take a look and provide your feedback.  

Here’s what one resident thinks about the plans:

“In a time of austerity, it is quite astonishing that the Council is prepared to spend a huge amount of money on various schemes which will completely remove the appeal and character of what is presently a quaint and characterful village. This post office plan precludes people from accessing the post office with large/heavy parcels without having to walk a considerable distance from the car park.

To expect an elderly or disabled person to walk from Village Way car park carrying an awkward/large/heavy parcel is quite ridiculous/inconsiderate. Another huge platform to cause traffic jams and potentially damage cars/people’s spines. The buses’ journeys through Cranleigh will be very slow, with so many platforms to negotiate and the already questionable timetables will be adversely affected.”

6 thoughts on “A bus driver’s plea to the selfish motorists in Cranleigh.”

  1. Well said Driver! Idiots parking in the bus bay on the crossing zig zags need their heads examined. Still once top he councils take away the lay-bys under these proposals they will be forced to use the car parks!

  2. Every road in and out of Cranleigh needs resurfacing first before Surrey County Council wastes huge sums of money on what is a vanity project

  3. As a bus passenger I am dismayed at the danger of inconsiderate parking and many road abusers lack of consideration for bus drivers and their passengers. Those illegally parking in bus stops put passengers at risk of harm and danger.

    Buses are a climate friendly way to travel and available to everyone. The Highway Code states that priority should be given to buses when pulling away from stops, why not consider and follow this reasonable guidance?

    1. Parking in bus bays is the order of the day we understand by the townsfolk of Cranleigh. Now, possibly thanks to their selfish behaviour, buses will be given priority, and motorists will queue up behind them.

  4. It looks like the bus stop pull ins are to be filled in with paving (although the plans suspiciously don’t explicitly state this). This has already been done on the main routes in and out of Guildford. It’ll be justified as “providing wider, safer pavements” – but this is not the benefit nor reason. It is to push stopped buses into the road to ‘calm” or slow down and discourage other vehicles. Chaos will ensue. Vast areas of expensive concrete and paving benefits no-one.

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