A bus success story has put people’s safety at risk by making it harder for drivers to see before they pull out of a side road, a councillor has warned.
And it’s only a matter of time before there’s a serious crash at the dip in a busy road, he said.
Independent councillor Peter Atkinson, who represents North Portslade, has warned Brighton and Hove City Council and Brighton and Hove Buses that a serious accident is inevitable unless something is done about the corner of Heathfield Drive by the Graham Avenue shops.
At present, he said, drivers pulling out of Heathfield Drive often have their view hidden by three buses, and sometimes four, waiting at the stop by the shops.
The buses are meant to wait at the bus stop for just a short period of time but often stay longer because they became bunched up as they reached Mile Oak.
It has left some bus drivers having to wait until their colleagues in front of them have pulled away.
This, in turn, has caused the line of vision completely obscured for drivers pulling out of Heathfield Drive.
Drivers have to inch forward until they have clear sight of the road which is dangerous – not least as unseen cars come towards them downhill along Graham Avenue.
Councillor Atkinson said: “There have been several near misses and it’s just sheer luck that no one has been seriously hurt.
“I know the saying ‘an accident waiting to happen’ is often seen as a cliché but it’s totally correct with this situation.”
Councillor Atkinson raised the problem with the council and bus company earlier in the year but the council’s road safety team felt that nothing could be done.
Residents remain extremely concerned and Councillor Atkinson has gone back to the council to raise the issue with the public transport team who responded more positively, albeit requesting more evidence.
Councillor Atkinson, in turn, is asking residents to send him photos and videos that highlight the problem.
A mirror has been suggested, with residents saying that anti-glare ones can be bought.
Councillor Atkinson said: “In some ways, the situation is being caused by the success of the bus company providing a dependable and very frequent service for the 1 and 1X buses and residents are grateful for this.
“We do need urgent action, though, on this road safety issue or it’s only a matter of time before there is a really serious accident.”
NOTE The copy originally said Heathfield Crescent. This has been corrected to Heathfield Drive.
Three or four buses! that’s nothing compared to the gridlocked line of buses stretching all the way down North Street thanks to the congestion caused by Trevor Mutens brilliant Valley Garden 3 “Improvements”.
Now that’s really putting road safety at risk…
But premature to judge isn’t it since construction hasn’t finished yet.
I live on Heathfield Crescent.
My requires me to come and go from home regularly.
I have absolutely no issue pulling out you know between buses. Anyone with the correct driving skill to pass a driving test would also have no problem.
My driving instructor taught me to peep and creep.
That is what I have done with zero issues.
Anyone complaining is just a lazy driver.
Where I live in Kemptown, pulling into Sutherland Road from a side road has to be done very carefully as parked cars near the corner make it very difficult to see oncoming traffic. But if drivers and cyclists observe the 20mph speed limit there is no danger. We can all stop safely.
Most of the traffic in Brighton is caused by to many and unnecessary buses people of Brighton are very lazy and won’t walk anywhere
No cost of living crisis in Brighton.
It’s amazing how smooth things run on a Sunday with less buses and more cars
Is the article referring to the Heathfield Drive/Graham Avenue or the Graham Crescent/Graham Avenue junction; as I believe Heathfield Crescent is in the cul-de-sac and doesn’t connect to Graham Avenue? The comments reported by the councillor are confusing the two junctions as well (for example, the latter is the only one with trees, but isn’t obscured by buses).
The one access road to Heathfield Crescent does indeed come out onto Graham Avenue, just south of the parade of shops. And this is indeed where the bus stop is.
That bus stop is like the end of the line for the Mile Oak buses – and one I use regularly when heading up to the South Downs via Mile Oak farm.
The roads in this residential area are relatively quiet, because there is no through traffic.
As the article says, this bus stop ‘congestion’ is only an issue when more than two buses are trying to wait there – and that only happens when the number 1 service has caught up with the earlier buses in front.
It’s also not unreasonable that the drivers take a short break there, given that it’s the end of their circular route.
That said, I have never seen more than two buses parked up there at one time.
I’m guessing that the bus company, now made aware of the issue, will have a word with their drivers.
That’s Heathfield Drive, Billy. Crescent doesn’t link to Graham at all because it’s a ring road connecting to Drive at both ends.
Road names aside, it’s still just a closed T junction on which one should be demonstrating proper junction discipline for either way. I don’t think it is a road safety issue as the councillor suggests, but rather a driver skill issue.
Thanks for the comments and questions about the name of the roads at the corner by the bus stop. I mistakenly said Heathfield Crescent and have now amended it to say Heathfield Drive. With apologies for causing confusion.
Why don’t they just put a mirror on the kerb opposite? Seems obvious (and cheap) but maybe I’m missing something
I live in newhaven and we have the same problem with Brighton and hove buses there are several stops and a bus and taxi hub next to the railway station in newhaven and most days there are 4 busses trying to get in there and because the first 3 busses have not left the 4th bus hangs out into the main road blocking the road after the kevel crossing obscuring a drivers libe of site but akso we have a ring road in newhaven a one way system and it has racyhepmultiple bus stoos tgat are rearly onky built for one bus comfortable but quite often there is a bus and a bus company van doing a driver change but then a 2nd bus decideds to stop and the second bus theb is hanging out the bus stop into the live lane if the one way system and this causes other drivers to sudddenly have to change lane unexsoectedly and if one decude its gointo pull out of one of these stops other drivers are left with no choice as the bus company exsoect every one else to bow and scraoe to them as they thibk they are above the law esoecally with parking danjoursly if a bus stop is full the bus driver should be made to go ti the next suitable bus stop. The other thing is that driver changes should only be done in safe arease that can accomodate the flow of busses and driver changes safe and not outting other drivers ,road uses and padestriand at risk i blame a lot of this on the oeople who controle the busses and the on demand timetables and making drivers stop a bus stops for longer if the traffic gas allowed them to be slightly ahead of the time table. Its time bus comoanies were held accountable for how there drivers behave and and use bus stops. We see so many busses with the same or similar numbers that its possible after the rush hours that some similar bus numbers could be reduced at surtain times of the day. As for busses that ship children to local secondary schools these drivers are intimidating and faws car drivers to go up onto pavement to get out of there way or to some how reverse so they can push by this is unbatable to put up with out local roads in newhaven are narrow as i suspect that in brighton and hove to. This attitude of these bus drivers need to be sorted to before the force sombody of the road or into a padestrian as during the school bus run there are plenty of school children walking around avlivious to the traffic.