Christ Church parishioners have scored a victory against Transport for London after halting their plans to put a 24/7 bus stop outside the church, writes Kirsty Purnell…
TfL had hoped to reinstate the space, which is currently used by elderly and disabled users of the Christ Church Café, as a round-the-clock bus stop.
Currently, the space is only used by buses between 11pm and 8am. TfL’s change of plan means that churchgoers can continue to use the space to park, as they have done for the past forty years.
One churchgoer, Janet Coy, called it a “victory” for the churchgoers.
East Dulwich ward councillor James Barber, who was the first to hear of TfL’s plans, told the News: “I think TfL listened. They simply didn’t have a logical argument for going ahead with this.”
He added that TfL had also planned to re-arrange the bus stops so that they would be segregated for each bus service number.
“The other problem with segregating the different bus stops in East Dulwich for each bus number is that it would have actually increased the risk of there not being enough space to park. What can often happen is two of the same bus turn up at once. Letting any bus go anywhere means there’s chance of the bus stops getting clogged up. Having realised that, it’s clear they wouldn’t need to open Barry Road as a 24/7 bus stop,” Cllr Barber said.
Councillor Charlie Smith said: “This is a victory for common sense. Due to objections from myself and local residents, TfL have looked at the problems my constituents had to face and have reversed their initial proposal. Well done to everyone.”
Chris Eleftheriou, Regional Bus Operations Manager for south London, said: “Following discussions with residents and Southwark Council, we no longer plan to change the operational hours for Barry Road bus stand in East Dulwich. The stand will continue to operate between 23.00 and 08.00 only, so that people visiting the local amenities and nearby church can continue to use the space outside of these hours.”