Dear Editor, I’ve just read your article in the Eastbourne newspaper.
I own a shop on Station Parade, I was against the bus lane due to the impact it will impose on my business.
I am a small independent coffee shop based at No.3 (that coffee place) situated right by the tree that they plan on removing. They are also going to be taking half of the pavement right outside my shop, which means going forward, customers will now most likely not use the outside seating, as they will be sat closer to the road.
They are looking to extend the bus stop to be able to manage the flow of buses better… but at a cost to my business.
My window cleaner will no longer be able to park outside and will have to park over the road, if there is space. Also, no Uber and Just Eat drivers will be able to park outside due to the ‘no stopping’ bus lane, so long term it will have a financial impact on my business because I will no longer be able to use online platforms.
Hayley, Owner That Coffee Place
BUS LANES WILL WORSEN TRAFFIC CHAOS, NOT FIX IT!
Dear Editor, with reference to all the new proposed traffic schemes in Eastbourne.
Firstly, the proposed bus lane in Seaside. If you’re a motorist, the overall consensus seems to be that it will achieve nothing, but cause more congestion.
The overwhelming solution seems to be get rid of the built-out bus stops.
This would stop, at peak times, a wagon train of buses, not only causing congestion that backs up onto the Lottbridge Road roundabout with the resulting traffic jams up and down the Drove and along St. Anthony’s, but also allow buses to flow more freely.
I don’t know when they quote traffic surveys and flow modelling, if they have actually had anybody standing in and around the Lottbridge Road roundabout to observe the daily chaos.
The buses themselves could help by parallel parking at bus stops instead of driving in with the back of the bus hanging out at an angle, making it near impossible for anyone to get past.
Secondly, the proposed bus lane/ Enterprise Centre/Station.
If the bus stop right on entry to the roundabout was to be removed, the taxi rank waiting area repositioned around the corner into the set down /pick up area, which is covered, and turn this into a bus pull-in area — problem solved!
Again, I don’t know where or when the traffic surveys were carried out and by whom. Like it or not, buses are the problem, cars are a way of life, so let’s find a way to co-exist.
Mike Boyce
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