Merry Hill better bus scheme

[Roy]

My understanding is that the bus station work will start in February or March 2014 (after the Christmas rush and January sales) with completion in Autumn 2014 (before the next Christmas rush).

[winston]

My understanding is that the bus station work will start in February or March 2014 (after the Christmas rush and January sales) with completion in Autumn 2014 (before the next Christmas rush).

That sounds fairly realistic if they are currently finalising details, as they will need to agree a scheme, appoint a main contractor & various sub contracts to undertake the work

[richie]

The best thing to do would build the pedmore road bus link reclaim some of the staff car park the back of two by two and some of the land the back of matalan for bus stops and then shut the original station for redevelopment. It would help also if routes were re scheduled to minimise lay over and relief point moved to dudley, stourbridge or West Brom on the routes that also use those stations.

[Dylan4579]

Winston what I meant is that centro have persuaded nx to upgrade the 222, and maybe the rest of the routes were going to be upgraded anyway?

[richie]

Winston what I meant is that centro have persuaded nx to upgrade the 222, and maybe the rest of the routes were going to be upgraded anyway?

I would have thought centro played a small part in that i would have thougt the 222 would receive new midis when NX purchased them as its a high profile midi bus route. But without centro the next bus stop announcement feature probably would have been on that route.

[winston]

The best thing to do would build the pedmore road bus link reclaim some of the staff car park the back of two by two and some of the land the back of matalan for bus stops and then shut the original station for redevelopment. It would help also if routes were re scheduled to minimise lay over and relief point moved to dudley, stourbridge or West Brom on the routes that also use those stations.

That sounds like a very good plan, and would cause the least inconvenience to bus users / shoppers, do you work in planning????? There is also the derelict land where the Robin Hood pub once stood that could provide the entrance/exit for a direct bus only link on to the Pedmore Road

[Stu]

I haven't seen any plans for the new Merry Hill bus station, but I wonder if any consideration will be given to the possibility of the Metro tram being extended to Merry Hill at some point in the future? As it would make sense to allow for a potential tram terminus when designing and building the new bus station, to save any headaches in the future.

Imagine being able to get a tram to Merry Hill and then be able to easily connect with an onward bus journey, or vice-versa...

[Roy]

The original plans for the Metro was for it to leave the railway line at Round Oak and then head towards Level Street, crossing it near where Daniel's yard used to be and then follow the canal towpath with the Merry Hill stop at the top of the flight of steps that go down to M&S.  It would have then crossed the canal and terminated near the old Brierley Hill swimming baths.  Any later extension southwards to Stourbridge Junction would have been via Moor Street to rejoin the railway there.  I understand that that is still the favoured Centro route even if the line was built for Tram-Train.

Therefore, it would go nowhere near the bus station.

[Kevin]

Therefore, it would go nowhere near the bus station.

Probably for the best, I imagine if it did it would be chaos

[winston]

Therefore, it would go nowhere near the bus station.

Probably for the best, I imagine if it did it would be chaos

Options are limited really, as Merry Hill was never designed with public transport in mind, personally I think if they are serious about boosting the number of bus journeys to/from Merry Hill they should potentially look as doubling capacity in the new bus station to allow for future expansion & sacrifice the entire car park in front of Halfords. The bus station should be fully covered with seamless access straight in to the shops.....

[Roy]

The latest news I have is that the initial agreement between Westfield and Centro has been signed, and detailed design work will be undertaken over the next 3 to 4 months.

Work on both the new road layout and the new Bus Station will start next March with completion of the entire scheme before the end of October 2014. 

The new Bus Station will have 2 stands more than the existing one.  There are two options for the site of the new Bus Station.  It could be on the site of the existing one (extended into the adjoining car park).  The alternative is to take over the car park alongside the Asda petrol station.  If the second option was taken, it would probably be possible to use the existing Bus Station while the new one is being built. 

[PM]

But will diamond really invest in new buses for the 226-it can hardly be one of their most profitable routes so I would be surprised-yes more buses for the 4M and 4 etc or possibly even more new stuff for the 002 which seems to make a killing but not so sure about the 226. When will we know for certain where the new buses are going??

[Kevin]

The latest news I have is that the initial agreement between Westfield and Centro has been signed, and detailed design work will be undertaken over the next 3 to 4 months.

Work on both the new road layout and the new Bus Station will start next March with completion of the entire scheme before the end of October 2014. 

The new Bus Station will have 2 stands more than the existing one.  There are two options for the site of the new Bus Station.  It could be on the site of the existing one (extended into the adjoining car park).  The alternative is to take over the car park alongside the Asda petrol station.  If the second option was taken, it would probably be possible to use the existing Bus Station while the new one is being built.

I hope for the last option, purely because it means annoying motorists by reducing the number of parking spaces

[winston]

The latest news I have is that the initial agreement between Westfield and Centro has been signed, and detailed design work will be undertaken over the next 3 to 4 months.

Work on both the new road layout and the new Bus Station will start next March with completion of the entire scheme before the end of October 2014. 

The new Bus Station will have 2 stands more than the existing one.  There are two options for the site of the new Bus Station.  It could be on the site of the existing one (extended into the adjoining car park).  The alternative is to take over the car park alongside the Asda petrol station.  If the second option was taken, it would probably be possible to use the existing Bus Station while the new one is being built.

Thanks for the update Roy!

Whichever site is chosen, the new bus station needs to be linked in to one of the main shopping centre entrances via a completed enclosed glass walkway with automated doors exiting to buses, this will ensure that bus passengers can exit the shopping centre & jump straight on to their bus without being exposed to the elements. Additionally, access for cars through Times Square Avenue should be banned, with that section being buses only. Cars should not be allowed past the Asda petrol station or the last entrance/exit of the car parks in front of Matalan regardless of which site is chosen 

[Liverpool Street]

The latest news I have is that the initial agreement between Westfield and Centro has been signed, and detailed design work will be undertaken over the next 3 to 4 months.

Work on both the new road layout and the new Bus Station will start next March with completion of the entire scheme before the end of October 2014. 

The new Bus Station will have 2 stands more than the existing one.  There are two options for the site of the new Bus Station.  It could be on the site of the existing one (extended into the adjoining car park).  The alternative is to take over the car park alongside the Asda petrol station.  If the second option was taken, it would probably be possible to use the existing Bus Station while the new one is being built.

Thanks for the update Roy!

Whichever site is chosen, the new bus station needs to be linked in to one of the main shopping centre entrances via a completed enclosed glass walkway with automated doors exiting to buses, this will ensure that bus passengers can exit the shopping centre & jump straight on to their bus without being exposed to the elements. Additionally, access for cars through Times Square Avenue should be banned, with that section being buses only. Cars should not be allowed past the Asda petrol station or the last entrance/exit of the car parks in front of Matalan regardless of which site is chosen

Great to hear from you again, Winston! Your view above is very valid.