Eightsome reels make buses pay
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WHY is Runcorn new town's bus system a success whereas that at Milton Keynes is a dead loss? If I understand Terence Bendixson, a distinguished planner and president-designatE of the Pedestrians' Association, in an address to the Royal Society of Arts, the reason lies ir the fundamental design of the two towns.
Runcorn's inspiration came from Arthur Ling, who, despite opposition, established the first pedestrian precinct in a big British city (Coventry). He and his colleagues arranged the northern new town about a figure-of-eight road used only IT buses, which are thus able to average 20mph including stops, "just about cover their operatinc costs" and carry twice as many passengers as the buses in nearby Skelmersdale new town, where public transport has no priority.
The visionary at Milton Keynes was Mel Webber, an American professor of city planning, backed by "men in grey flannel suits" from an international consultancy. They produced "a chequer board of 'villages' within a criss-cross of main roads," which spelled death to the bus service.
Now supposing those men in sharp grey flannel suits had worn T-shirts and jeans . . It's just a thought.