BUS routes across the south Warrington network are under review including a rerouted one at Thelwall which has angered local councillors and residents.
Angry residents and councillors in Thelwall claim local bus company Network Warrington is refusing to listen to their concerns about safety on the No 6 bus route – but the bus company say illegally parked cars are adding to the problems and are currently reviewing their whole Warrington south network.
In September last year, the bus company shortened the route so it turned down All Saints Drive instead of continuing along Stockport Road, turning left down Lymm Road and then past the Pickering Arms.
Local councillors claim they did this to save money and say they have been trying to get the company to think again but say they have got nowhere.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Ian Marks said, “When a new Chairman and Managing Director took over in the early summer, we hoped they might start listening but sadly they haven’t, despite the MD saying ‘we are listening to all our customers to ensure that we provide the service people expect’.
“It’s got worse because in September they wrote to inform us ‘there will be no further correspondence regarding this issue from us’. This is a quite unacceptable way to treat residents and councillors when we have never received satisfactory answers to our questions. I have now sent a ‘Freedom of Information’ request to them requesting information on safety, risk assessments and the re-routing decision”.
Parish Councillor Cliff Taylor added, “The primary issue is that of safety. I think the risks of using All Saints Drive are too great. Network Warrington may think otherwise but my view is shared by local residents, the Parish Council, the School and the Church. The problems with buses using this route are not going away.”
All Saints Drive resident Les Pratt said, “I am sick to death of continual problems outside our homes and the company’s refusal to do anything about it after fifteen months. On 4 November the road was blocked for about an hour when a bus arrived due to cars being parked on the road while the occupants attended the annual bonfire. We had the same problem last year so you would have thought they would have known there would be difficulties.
“Funerals, weddings, school and community events frequently bring traffic to a standstill. Buses often cross pavements to avoid legitimately parked cars and contractors’ vehicles. Visitors who do not know the area are aghast that buses actually use this road. Most of the buses have no or hardly any passengers which makes it worse.”
Another local resident Bill Holledge added, “The bus company has asked local people to give them ‘advance warning of events’ so they can re-route the service on these occasions. It is quite unreasonable for us to help them with day-to-day management. We have suggested they should seriously look at a permanent re-routing along Bell Lane but we have never had a satisfactory answer as to why this cannot be done. Apart from the chaos caused when buses cannot get through, there are other times when the road is clear when drivers significantly ignore the 20mph speed limit.
“It is certainly not true that residents of All Saints Drive lobbied for the route to be changed to their road. Quite the opposite. The original petition signed by nearly 200 local people showed overwhelming opposition to the route with only one person being in favour. In all the thirty-four years I have lived here, we have never had problems before the buses came.”
Cllr Marks concluded by saying, “Residents and councillors will not give up until we get some satisfaction from Network Warrington.”
But a Network Warrington spokesperson said: “We have listened to the comments from residents of All Saints Drive and have offered advice and guidance to residents on how to help prevent traffic problems.
“We are aware of the strength of feeling from some residents on All Saints Drive but we have had no road traffic incidents on this road since establishing the route. There are passengers on the number 6 route who rely on public transport and would otherwise be isolated, and we are committed to ensuring that we support as many residents as possible.
“A common issue our bus drivers and residents of All Saints Drive face is the issue of illegally parked cars. Our drivers are fully trained and are used to navigating complex highways but, in order to help keep Warrington moving, we rely on co-operation from residents and parking enforcement.
“This issue also poses problems for all wide vehicles including fire engines and ambulances – so we would ask all residents to be mindful of their parking arrangements on highways.
“We are happy to temporarily reroute buses to accommodate community events but we do rely on resident co-operation to ensure we have enough time to change routing arrangements.
“We are, however, currently reviewing our entire south Warrington network – including All Saints Drive – and feedback from residents across the borough will be taken into account when we plan for future improvements.”
