Cars choke Devizes roads
2:00pm Thursday 25th October 2012 in Latest News
The only way to save Devizes from traffic congestion and air pollution is to get more people to leave their cars at home and take the bus, according to campaign group Devizes Passengers.
The group says Devizes streets are choked with traffic fumes, with air pollution reaching illegal levels, but people are not using buses because services are not user-friendly.
It is organising a public meeting to discuss the problem. Jasper Selwyn, chairman of Devizes Passengers, said: “For many people, the reason they drive is because the local buses are not a realistic alternative.
“When there is such a big squeeze on Wiltshire Council’s bus budget, the future for public transport might seem bleak.
“Some £260,000 needs to be saved from the subsidised bus services this year, and a further £230,000 from renegotiated bus contracts.
“A silver lining comes in the form of a recent review of local authority practice in cutting bus services. The report (from Passenger Focus) found that if local authorities set up a meaningful dialogue with all parties, especially operators and users, savings could be made.”
The Devizes Community Area Partnership has recently published its Devizes Transport Strategy. When it was approved at the recent meeting of Devizes Area Board, Wiltshire councillor Richard Gamble said air quality problems at Shanes Castle would spread to other points if congestion increased further. He said: “We have public transport links with other towns but those links are rather limited and there is no easy link with the railway network. Buses within the town are also limited.
“We are extremely keen to involve bus users as well as people who do not currently use the bus. We want to find out whether the sorts of solutions that the group comes up with are sufficiently attractive.”
The meeting will take place at the town hall on Wednesday, November 7, at 7.30pm.
Comments(14)
whatisgoingon
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5:49pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Yer Tis
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6:54pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Just one question as most vehicles are passing through to other destinations, what do you do about them. Oh I know when it was suggested a bypass could be built the good people of Devizes fought it hammer and nail.
You had the chance of a solution, you chose to reject it
Daedalus
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8:00pm Thu 25 Oct 12
cris
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3:04pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Really it is...
need i really say more about this as all things these days come down to cost.
GPNHS bod
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3:25pm Fri 26 Oct 12
GPNHS bod
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3:29pm Fri 26 Oct 12
wondering why
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1:14am Sat 27 Oct 12
A bypass linking the A360 and A4361 would help and can't be ignored, but I guarantee it will be ignored.
Phorever
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10:12am Sat 27 Oct 12
Tulip
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4:20pm Sat 27 Oct 12
jasperselwyn
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5:49pm Sat 27 Oct 12
Tulip
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1:40pm Sun 28 Oct 12
CutGlass
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9:43pm Mon 29 Oct 12
GPNHS bod wrote:Might be a bit busy getting out of Birmingham City centre. Slow moving through Halesowen and The Lye. Stourbridge Ring Road can be exciting if you get in the wrong lane, but once you get past Wollaston the rolling scenery is beautiful, especially around Enville & Six Ashes. Bridgenorth is a bit of a bottleneck. Are you sure you meant the A458?
I undersatand the A458 is choked as well
Don Jones
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9:26am Tue 30 Oct 12
jasperselwyn wrote:Well said, Jasper. The BC loop is a right pain in the backside – especially on the way out of Devizes. Not only does it add a few minutes to the journey but the right turn onto the A4361 is an accident waiting to happen. A compromise would be for just the bus from Swindon to go through the village. Anyone who wanted to get to Swindon could then change by Lidl, where there is a pedestrian crossing. Id rise that point (agin) at the meetigbut I can’t make it that night – please pass on my apologies.
Buses need to go when and where people need them to. Then they would be used. Why does the 49 always go through Bishop's Cannings, for example? The town bus is not at all user friendly, as it only goes round its loops in one direction. If you need a timetable, you have to pick one up from Scrummylicious in the Market Place. If only we still had our Information Centre!
I’d challenge an earlier poster’s claims about the times. Their journey might well have taken 70 minutes but there have been roadworks in Devizes, Wroughton and Swindon. Most are gone now so the journey should be back to 50-55 minutes. Sure, it’s quicker to drive but then you’ve got to park and that takes a bit of time too. I’ve worked in the centre of Swindon for most of the last 24 years and I’d put the door-to-desk figures for me at about 45 minutes for the car and an hour for the bus. And then there’s the cost. A daily return is £5.20 but a weekly ticket is £19.50 and a three-monther works out at around £16 a week. You can’t drive and park for that sort of money. I o accept, though, that as I live close t a bus stop in Devizes and work near one in Swindon, it’s relatively easy for me. If I worked on the edge of town and had to change, I’d drive.
Finally, the case for a bypass is not yet proven, IMHO. We’ve never been given proper traffic stats. I reckon that the majority of journeys start &/or finish in Devizes and that lazysoditis is responsible for a fair bit of our congestion.
jamiedavey21 says...
4:32pm Thu 25 Oct 12