Goldsworth News : 176 Bampton Bus Layby Change Planned

The Bampton Bus Layby

The plan to `improve´ the bus stops in Bampton Way, near Waitrose, is back. Surrey County Council are going to fill in the lay-bye so that buses stop on the road. They give two reasons: buses find it hard to get into the lay-bye because of its shape, and the traffic then makes it hard for them to get out again.

"I think this is a daft idea. Cars overtaking the buses will be right in the path of vehicles coming out of Denton," says Diana Smith, County Councillor for Knaphill and Goldsworth West. "I thought we had stopped this plan two years ago, when other lay-byes were filled in. Unfortunately the boundaries have changed so that this bus stop is not in my Division any more, but I asked for a safety audit. The audit recognised a problem with overtaking, but only suggested carriageway markings to warn drivers. In my opinion this is a waste of the £10,000 from Waitrose to improve access after their extension was allowed. Why couldn´t it be used to give us a proper crossing of Denton?"

The work will be ordered early in January.

You can send objections directly to David Durrant at Surrey County Council, Grosvenor House, London Road, Guildford, GU1 1FA, or e-mail david.durrant@surreycc.gov.uk.

Please copy in Shamas Tabrez, the County Councillor for Woking Central (shamas.tabrez@surreycc.gov.uk) and Diana Smith (diana.smith@surreycc.gov.uk), County Councillor for Knaphill.