11:56am Friday 19th March 2010
I AM proud to announce we have a winner of my ‘I love the lane’ competition.
Stand and take the plaudits Mr Neil Timberlake, because you have scooped the fantastic first prize of a limited autographed picture of me on the A40.
Neil, of Portway Drive, West Wycombe, surely deserves this for his no-nonsense attack on me and the ‘anti-public transport stance’ of our papers.
Readers will recall that I denounced the bus lane on the London Road, High Wycombe as dangerous and confusing. But in the interests of balance, I asked the public to come up with reasons for loving it.
Neil’s last minute entry was published on our letters page last week, and he detailed why buses are so important in a town which faces “complete, network-wide, all-day traffic gridlock, unless we provide effective alternatives to the car”.
He explained that buses need a range of priority measures to avoid sitting in the same jams as cars and to give people an incentive to switch to public transport.
He agrees with me that the London Road lane suffers from being discontinuous, but says it needs to be reconfigured to allow for longer continuous stretches – and needs to be joined by new bus lanes to the north, south and west of the town centre.
Neil, who has a BSc in Transport Operation & Planning, says our editorial line must change – otherwise the paper will gain a reputation as a dinosaur.
“The Bucks Free Press remains obstinately anti-public transport, reflecting the ignorant prejudices of its editor,” he said.
Sadly Neil my ignorant prejudices remain intact as far as this bus lane is concerned, although I actually agree with the substance of your letter which makes perfect sense.
I am a fan of good public transport. However, this particular bus lane scares the living daylights out of me because the way it weaves in and out, causing traffic to continually switch lanes to compensate.
I also retain ignorant prejudices about there not being enough evening bus services, the hefty price of tickets and the scarcity of public transport on rural routes.
Go to somewhere such as Toronto, Canada, and you’ll see how a proper bus system works.
But Neil Timberlake’s vision for High Wycombe is an entirely laudable one, and for that he deserves my first prize.
I am sure he will hang my autographed picture in pride of place in his living room.
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