Liverpool City Centre Traffic Issues

[iMarkeh]

RE: Liverpool City Centre Traffic Issues

(15/10/2018 19:21)mr t Wrote:  What should have been done at the start was stands 9-12 never built, it should have been alighting side that side, 2 big bays.

I have to slightly disagree. Stands 9-12 do have some use. More alighting bays are needed but putting all buses from 9-12 over to the other side would cripple it. Stands 9-12 just need to be better utilised.

(15/10/2018 19:21)mr t Wrote:  Now we have the situation single file both ways, cant get passed 2 buses on the stand, stand 1(79S) and 5(15/18) only get 1 bus at a time, stand 1 blocks Whitechapel and exiting Queen Square when 2 79s are there, only 1 bus loads at a time, and only 4 buses can alight.
The unusual situation that for some reason has continued for 10 years now is all the Bootle services still terminate at Queen Square not Whitechapel and half have to use it twice to get layover on St Johns Lane, then use stands 9-12 which really adds up the number of buses that could easily be removed.

I would be moving the tour buses out of stand 2 (If you really want the tour bus to be in Queen Square, make it use 9-12). Put the 14s in stand 2. Then there are less buses trying to use stand 1. Arrivas 79s every 5 minutes shouldn't block the stand.

I think there should be a rule as well that if you don't serve Queen Square outbound, you can't drop off there. Also routes like the 53. If you have longer than 4 minutes before you are due out, you must drop off at St Johns Lane and wait until 4 minutes before your scheduled departure. This way if buses are late they can quickly pick up and drop off. Otherwise, sit outside and then it doesn't cause hassle.

(15/10/2018 20:05)Bevan Price Wrote:  The other thing that would help at Queen Square is to get rid of the metal barriers next to stands 1-8, so that 2 buses could load at the same time at many of the stands. For example, at stand 8, if a 20 & 21 arrive almost simultaneously, the second bus has to wait whilst the first bus loads. But that second bus then often blocks other buses from overtaking, and causes a queue of buses to develop, buses often being delayed for a few minutes.

This is where you introduce 'slot' systems. Merseytravel in Liverpool try linking services by their destinations where as St Helens it runs off slots (If you are late, you get a fine. You have a 5 minute slot on the stand. Use it or lose it. If you are late, you have to bypass the bus station). What I would say it look at West Yorkshire and Warrington. They run off slot systems and they run like clockwork when it comes to stand allocations. It is rare to see buses waiting for a stand. Though it would be very tough to implement properly in Queen Square, something similar would work. Give a 2 minute slot. There are too many clashes. (Just to give an example, 18:55-19:00 there are 4 buses due off stand 10 yet 18:35-18:55 there are NO BUSES. Simply retiming a few buses would help stand allocations).

(15/10/2018 20:05)Bevan Price Wrote:  And removing the lights at each end of Queen Square would help, instead providing zebra crossings for pedestrians. (Large numbers of pedestrians ignore those lights, crossing the road as soon as they see a gap between buses.)
(Of course they won't do that, because some misguided "experts" seem to have decreed - and convinced council officials - that loads of traffic lights are the solution for all traffic problems.)

(15/10/2018 20:20)buses7675 Wrote:  I've used Queen Square Bus Station as a driver at night a few times when the traffic lights had failed (at the top end) and other than having to be aware traffic on St Johns Lane and the car park, the place flowed far better than normal!

I would like to see a subway under St Georges Place. Link it up with Lime Street Station subway. This would drastically reduce the number of pedestrians crossing the road then there is less need for the lights.