Oppose the Lexden Bus Lane Proposals

I object

Completely unnecessary expense. Traffic problems only likely to be experienced if at all at very limited times of the day. Doesn't justify these plans. Pity Essex County Council don't listen to Colchester locals and their councillors!!

Totally bonkers!!

I'm worried about the safety of pedestrians and feel that as usual the car is being given priority over other people. The congestion is only for limited periods of the day and if parents / children of schools were encouraged to walk or take buses with more vigour then the problem would go away.

The proposal is all about the motorists at the cost of pedestrians and cyclists. The proposals will make it more dangerous for non-motorists and push people away from healthy activities such as walking and cycling and in to cars! The ECC literature is also lacking - I can't see anywhere where they state they propose a 3 land road. Unless you know how to read plans you would not know. This is not sufficient for public consultation.

1) The proposed “Lexden Road Bus Lane Scheme” would appear to be a retrograde decision based on the presumption of an increased road usage as a result of the new housing developments principally in the Tollgate area and the availability of a five million pound grant. Had this problem previously been envisaged, provisions should have been agreed during the planning phase of the Tollgate development and appropriate infrastructure put in place before the development was sanctioned to go ahead. However, irrespective of this and to my knowledge, the Lexden Road congestion problem only occurs for around one hour on two occasions per day when schoolchildren are travelling to and from school. Essex County Council would appear to be basing the need for a bus lane on the number of people using the bus service each year. However, statistics need to be collated on who would be using the bus/cycle lane rather than cars during the two peak times when the congestion problem prevails otherwise the whole project may incur unnecessary expenditure and have minimal impact on the present congestion problem. 2) Essex County Council are presuming that if a bus lane is provided, journey time reliability is predicted to be improved for bus services and as a result bus travel would become more attractive for both existing and potential users. Additionally, the provision of a cycle lane is anticipated to encourage the less confident cyclist to cycle. However, the inclusion of a bus lane between Glen Avenue and Maldon Road roundabout and a cycle lane on the opposite side of the road would not achieve the desired outcome for either bus/cycle users. This is because it ignores the fact that to be efficient/an attractive proposition, a bus/cycle lane would need to be continuous. In the case of the bus lane, it would need to be provided both sides of the road, (for which there is insufficient room) otherwise a seamless service would be unable to be provided as delays are likely to occur on t

This is a dangerous change. Which if goes ahead will put people's lives at risk. Additionally, this will cause more congestion throughout the day instead of at just rush hour.

A heavy handed engineering solution which does not justify the environmental consequences

This would be a dangerous development, particularly at the bus stops near the school's along the route. The pavements need to be wide for the safety of all.

The bus lane proposals would be a health hazard to the school children who congregate at the bus stops twice a day only during term time so the combined cyle and pathway is not practical The traffic flows freely during most of the day and is only temporarily delayed twice a day during term time However i welcome the idea of double yellow lines at the pinch point at the Lexden Crown

The bus is always able to pull out and continue on its way very quickly thereby negating the need for a dedicated bus lane which will not save the bus any time at all.

A ridiculous proposal

The narrowing of the pavements and the proposed sharing of the space between pedestrians and cyclists is potentially dangerous.

This is not wanted in a thousand years. Who is sitting in a remote location, conjuring up 'solutions' to problems that simply do not exist?

This is dangerous and will destroy the character of Lexden Road. Please re-consider.

This proposal is a retrograde step, and a significant waste of valuable resources.

Seek justice for local people over outside bureaucracy.

I totally object to this poorly presented proposal.

Essex CC seems to be oblivious to the harm its doing our public realm. Never seen a town so cluttered and full of useless road schemes, road markings and signage. Do not squeeze pedestrians and cyclists out of Lexden Road.

What a load of nonsense! Building a bus lane for half an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Would be endangering children with cyclists wizzing past them so close. The only reason they would ever need a bus lane would be if there was a park and ride in tollgate.