'Proposed highway scheme' in Marple Bridge?

[gazwhite]

If it's proposed to remove the short stay parking from outside the Royal Scot and it happens it would be a disaster for local businesses not to mention the traffic calming it provides as mentioned earlier in this thread.

There is space to fit two further spaces in the car park next to the chemist.

An extension of the car park behind the PP would solve some issues.

Could the bus stop be moved from outside Browse on Town Street, maybe to opposite Sherlocks where the car park is - that would create two additional street spaces.

[corium]

... I think we should think carefully before getting rid of those parking places, because they act as a helpful traffic calming measure. Town Street has many pedestrians and the pavements are quite narrow in places, and the last thing we want is traffic speeding through the village.

Even without the parking spaces there is no chance of  this. There are already some aggressive road humps at one end, the number of oversized cars sticking out of too small parking bays, lorries, horse riders and people letting people off at the parking surgery will all regulate the speed. This is no time for half measures, it's grinding to a complete halt on an almost daily basis now.

[Dave]

Thanks for the update Malcolm - really useful and encouraging. especially this bit:

We are also in discussion with the rail authorities about extending the Purple Pakora Park but if we do that, we'd recommend converting some of Brabyns Brow from long stay to short stay.

However, re this bit: 

The Town Street parking by the pub is on our list of secondary actions, once we get the first ones done.

... I think we should think carefully before getting rid of those parking places, because they act as a helpful traffic calming measure. Town Street has many pedestrians and the pavements are quite narrow in places, and the last thing we want is traffic speeding through the village.

[Malcolm Allan]

I've just been alerted to this debate on the forum. We ran a public survey last year of these issues and put round a proposed action plan for comment, along with a rationale for the proposals. We've been working on that plan for all this time and finally have something that will happen. This includes an increase to the long stay fees at the two pay and display car parks at the end of Town Street, and releasing some disabled bays for short stay parking on Brabyns. There are a good number of other spaces for disabled drivers and we reckon with two less on Brabyn's there are still 8 on or near Town Street. We surveyed use before proposing a change. The Town Street parking by the pub is on our list of secondary actions, once we get the first ones done. We are also in discussion with the rail authorities about extending the Purple Pakora Park but if we do that, we'd recommend converting some of Brabyns Brow from long stay to short stay.

[CllrKennyBlair]

@CllrGeoffAbell you mean the changes we agreed at Marple Area Committee, that I thought all three Marple North Councillors looked into and worked on?

[CllrGeoffAbell]

That's my understanding too.
People are generally using the train more (except when there is industrial action!) and bus less.
375 and 394 are subsidised services and we nearly lost the 394.
An update on that - Derbyshire CC announced they were putting some money into subsidised bus services (previously said they may cut it completely) but where and how much is still up in the air.  Watch this space. 
Councils have so little non-statutory spending left that bus services are a consideration.

Re Town St - I managed to pull the stop line back to help buses turn into Town St but it is of course still crowded for the next bit.  Cllr Malcolm Allan is looking at the parking across Marple Bridge and a few changes will come in soon.

[andrewbowden]

Thanks to Andrew for the informative explanation about the 375. Is this sort of knowledge in the public domain or are you "in the know" professionally?

Just nosey.  Amazing what you can find in the depths of the internet,!

[moorendman]

Thanks to Andrew for the informative explanation about the 375. Is this sort of knowledge in the public domain or are you "in the know" professionally?

Thanks to Corium for your clarification.

To build on Dave's point, a more pubby walk starts from the Beehive in New Mills, takes in the excellent Beer Shed in New Mills then continues along the Sett Valley trail ,via the Printers Arms at Thornsett before arriving in New Mills where you can take your pick from the George, Pack Horse , Royal Hotel or Dutsons. Ten past the hour up until 11 pm your 358 chariot awaits to bring you back to Marple. Three and a half miles and Four Good beer Guide ticks ( and a shoe in for next years guide for the Beer Shed ) - whats not to like?

[corium]

I am not quite sure what you mean about the "Red Herring" of the double decker.

This related to my original comment which was about the congestion at the bottom part of Longhurst Lane, sorry I didn't make this clear. Whilst a double decker certainly doesn't help, even the small shuttle type buses come to a grinding halt if there are cars parked on both sides of the road. I just didn't want the impression to be given that getting rid of double deckers would solve the problems at that point.

[Dave]

Shiloh Road is one of the most bonkers bus terminuses I have ever seen.  I have often wondered why it terminates there, and if anyone ever alights or boards there (I did once.  It's got a lovely view of the hills.)

It's a great starting point for a walk - for example  via the Little Mill, over the 'shoulder' of Lantern Pike, down past Little Hayfield in to Hayfield, passing a few good pubs. And you can then return on the 358 from Hayfield. A fine afternoon out.

I once asked a bus driver why the 375 goes along Shiloh Road instead of turning round at Five Lane Ends, as some buses used to years ago. The driver said that in the past, when the buses had conductors, part of the conductor's job was to act as 'banksman', walking behind the bus as it turned round to ensure that it did so safely. Now that there is no conductor, the 'powers that be' deemed Five Lane Ends not to be a safe place for the bus to turn round, and given the speed at which some cars drive round that bend, you can see why.

[andrewbowden]

The county border is not a strict demarcation , Stagecoach run buses to Hayfield and New Mills both examples of destainations outside Greater Manchester

They do indeed.  Difference is that those services are commercially operated, whilst the 375 is heavily subsidised for its run between Marple and Mellor (the rest of the route is commercially operated, without subsidy.)

Subsidised routes can cross the boundary however given such routes are paid for out of the taxes of Greater Manchester residents, such routes tend to be subsidised by the authorities on both sides of the border. For example, the 394 is funded by both Derbyshire County Council and Transport for Greater Manchester.  Unless Derbyshire wanted in on the 375 (highly unlikely given they) there is no real incentive for TfGM to splash the cash.

[moorendman]

If the 375 used the "official" turning circle near the Devvy, Moor end would have no service. We use it to get up there for walking or visiting friends, though more to the the 5 ways junction at Shiloh. At this time of year quite a few walkers use it.

Though the 375 users are indeed generally sparse this is not the case earlier in the journey - try living in Moor End & getting on it at Aquinas in the rush hour - no chance! It can be pretty packed at Stepping Hill at times. Whilst using a double decker may be madness most of the time even the small bus which does run on the route, albeit rather randomly, has trouble getting through Marple Bridge so the double decker issue may be a bit of a red herring in terms of access.

I live in Moor End and can speak from my experience. I can see that the 375 would be crowded at the beginning of its long journey but thats more a question of routing, inasmuch as Stagecoach are simply trying to cover its obligations with one bus. I am not quite sure what you mean about the "Red Herring" of the double decker. I actually asked a driver of one as he struggled up Moor End road why he was there and he said it was because Stagecoach wanted to use a bus that had come free from a school run.  Not good for the driver or the users of Moor End Road but expedient and cost effective for Stagecoach.

In response to Andrew's point:

An extension to Rowarth would be lovely but it's also over the county border so why would Transport for Greater Manchester bother?   

The county border is not a strict demarcation , Stagecoach run buses to Hayfield and New Mills both examples of destainations outside Greater Manchester

[corium]

If the 375 used the "official" turning circle near the Devvy, Moor end would have no service. We use it to get up there for walking or visiting friends, though more to the the 5 ways junction at Shiloh. At this time of year quite a few walkers use it.

Though the 375 users are indeed generally sparse this is not the case earlier in the journey - try living in Moor End & getting on it at Aquinas in the rush hour - no chance! It can be pretty packed at Stepping Hill at times. Whilst using a double decker may be madness most of the time even the small bus which does run on the route, albeit rather randomly, has trouble getting through Marple Bridge so the double decker issue may be a bit of a red herring in terms of access.

[andrewbowden]

This is a good point, it's the reason most people commute into Manchester by train in the first place. Whilst an integrated ticket system would be certainly nice to have, it woud be good if the existing public transport was joined up. For instance , the hourly 375 from Mellor arrives in Marple Bridge conveniently just after the train leaves and does not dovetail with the 383/384. There is no service after 6pm and none on a Sunday. It pointlessly terminates at nowhere in particular on Shiloh road ( carefully avoiding continuing an extra mile to Rowarth which has to put up with a twice weekly service)  and then it waits on Shiloh road for a few minutes presumably to ensure that it does not link with any other trains or buses. Its route overall is tortuous, if you wanted to travel to Stockport you would need to take a supply of food and a sleeping bag as it takes so long.

The solution would be a smaller vehicle , more frequent and working on a hail and ride basis.

Shiloh Road is one of the most bonkers bus terminuses I have ever seen.  I have often wondered why it terminates there, and if anyone ever alights or boards there (I did once.  It's got a lovely view of the hills.)

It feels like it's just somewhere to stash a bus for a few minutes, and creates some "busy" work for the driver.  If you study the timetable, the bus leaves Stockport and gets back again just over 2.5 hours later.  Just enough time for the driver to have a rest break in the depot (or changeover) before they are out again!

An extension to Rowarth would be lovely but it's also over the county border so why would Transport for Greater Manchester bother?   

Still we can dream.

[moorendman]

Moorendman refers to a bus service to Roworth, but that stopped a few years ago because no-one used it.

Who would when it only ran twice a week!

No further questions Mlord