Better Route—Bu t Not for Buses!
Page 40
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
OBJECTING to proposals for a bus service through a newly developed housing estate, Mr. W. H. Gunning, Clerk to Wigston (Leies) Urban District Council, told the. East , Midland Traffic Commissioners, at Leicester,. last week, that he could suggest a better route—but he agreed that the roads on his route were not suitable for bus operation until they . had been improved.
The application, by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., sought to take the service from The Newarke, Leicester, through a Wigston housing estate before entering Wigston proper. Mr. Raymond Tuft, divisicrnal superintendent of B.M.M.O., said cordial relations had always prevailed between the Urban Council and the company until the present time—it was the first time the council had opposed them in a traffic court.
Mr. D. M. Kirby, assistant divisional traffic superintendent, explained that there were repeated requests for service in newly developed areas, and in this case they wanted to cater for the public by diverting a non-paying service. It had been stated that 'vehicles would have to negotiate a blind corner, but if this practice were abandoned .a large percentage of their present Wigston services would have to stop.
The council were concerned about one particular turn where there had recently been a serious accident involving a bus. said Mr. Gunning. A petition had been raised protesting against the company's plan, but he did not propose to submit it as he thought many of the people who signed were under the impression that their land would be commandeered to
provide for widening roads on the route.
He suggested an alternative route ebvering the same area, but said that the roads would not be suitable for buses until a planned reconstruction scheme was completed.
The Commissioners announced that the new service would be approved for 12 monthS. After that time, the licence would be made permanent if residents found that the route served them satisfactorily.