London Banter - View Single Post

Robin9 · February 1st 16, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David C[_2_]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 11:33:59 +0100, Robin9
wrote:

I believe you're a Walthamstow resident. I used to know a
few families who lived in Upper Walthamstow. They were not
pleased when bus routes were extended via Fyfield Road to
Bisterne Avenue. They did tell me that cars had been damaged,
and that, when going over speedhumps, buses cause houses to
vibrate. They also said they wished the buses had not been
routed through their neighbourhood and that they never used them.
This last assertion is supported by empirical evidence: the buses
are more or less empty in Upper Walthamstow.

I also know very slightly a man who trained to be a bus driver and
who worked that route. He told me it was a nightmare trying to
make progress along Fyfield Road - he didn't need to tell me: I can
see for myself every time I drive around there - and he gave up
after a few weeks.

The Upper Walthamstow scenario typifies the reality of these
routes through residential streets.

1) Previously there had been no widespread clamour for bus
routes to come through Upper Walthamstow. People walked to
either Wood Street or Forest Road or hired a minicab, and the
vast majority of local residents thought there was nothing
unreasonable about the situation.

2) Bus evangelists decided buses should travel these narrow
roads. The decision was not made in response to public
demand but was made without regard for the impact the buses
would have on the area.

3) Now there are traffic jams in Fyfield Road and, inevitably, an
increase in air pollution.

4) Bus evangelists and their supporters pretend that they have
liberated people who were imprisoned in their homes, happily
ignoring the fact that no-one had been imprisoned, no-one had
complained about being imprisoned and that local people had
gone about their business with no great difficulty.

5) The quality of life for the majority has deteriorated, not
become better. They now have to contend with traffic jams,
vehicle fumes and vibration. TfL and the bus fanatics do not
care at all about these adverse consequence.

Brings back memories, my best friend used to live at 109 Fyfield.,

Back then, (steam trains & trolleybuses), it would have been very
surprising to have a bus route in the area.

We used to walk to Wood Street Station &/or Forest Road for trains &
buses, even to Snaresbrook Station to access the Underground.

Has there been a major bus riding population increase there, it wasn't
high density housing back then apart from a few council flats,
Maybe all the nearby "posh" houses have been replaced by high-rise
tower-blocks, but that's not in keeping with the Upper Walthamstow
that i used to know.

I'd like to live inside the London area again, if only to benefit from
the wonderful free public transport provided to us old people.

Unfortunately it's cheaper to live out in the Essex boondocks, buy the
occaisional travelcard, & suffer the 2-hourly bus service in the wrong
direction on Sundays.

Londoners don't seem to realize how good their public transport
network is, with interavailability ticket across all the operators low
fares as well.

DC

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Thank you for confirming some of the points I made earlier.

For the most part Upper Walthamstow is unchanged. One
very large house on the corner of Fyfield Road and Bisterne
Avenue has been pulled down and the site converted to a park!
Most of the large houses in Avon Road and Bisterne Avenue
have been converted into flats and about twenty-five years ago
a block of flats was built along the north side of Bisterne Avenue.

Waltham Forest is a speed hump local authority - of course it is:
it's Labour! - and all the roads in Upper Walthamstow now have
speed humps.