Ashley Brown wrote:
Does anyone have any info or speculation on what buses might run along
Exhibition Road and how well that might work given the proposed plans?
http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/110 might be useful as a bit
of shameless self-promotion.

They'll introduce buses once they've removed the street furniture, in an
effort to kill off even more students. Even better, stick bendies on it
and they can kill cycling students as well... K&C presumably don't like
all these students dropping their council tax income .

I can see the present routes down Queen's Gate being diverted to
Exhibition Road, particularly as K&C and Westminster repainted the bus
stops on Queen's Gate with parking spaces a while ago[1]. If they
introduced buses after removing street furniture, the former pavements
on Ex. Road would probably become parking spaces, leaving plenty of room
for bus stops[2].

The 70 drops me off right where I want to be at the moment, so I hope
they don't reroute that!

Is Queen's Gate - Prince Consort Road - Ex. Road viable? An extra stop
outside the Royal Albert Hall as well perhaps?

I don't think right turns are currently permitted from Prince Consort
Road to Exhibition Road, although if they're undressing the street then
I guess that ban will disappear.

AFAIR, a right turn from Kensington Gore into Exhibition Road is
possible although rather annoying for buses in the same way as the
Harrington Road / Queen's Gate junction where vehicles pass
offside-offside - meaning a bus turning north tends to get stuck next to
a Range Rover turning south as they find it difficult to maneouvre past
each other. (I know whose side I'm on...)

[1] Sadly, the bus stop flag outside Huxley building is also behind a
tree, so new Thorpes drivers tend to go sailing past then slam on the
brakes a bit down the road after shouts of "Oi mate, stop!" and "'Ang on
mate, you missed one!".

And if you pick up a 360 from there, you have to step out past the
parked cars to make sure they can actually see you. Mind you, at least
now the buses don't have to pull in awkwardly amongst the cars, they can
depart more quickly. Not so good for any infirm passengers though.

[2] Removing pavements seems to free up an awful lot more room for
parking spaces... Just a thought.

How cynical :-) I don't think it really provides any new room for
parking spaces, if the street layout is to actually work.

Incidentally there was yet another taxi/pedestrian/zebra crossing
incident today, this time on the Queen's Gate crossing rather than the
Prince Consort Road one. I'm not sure if it was a student involved this
time.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London