Rock Walk Diversion

It would seem that during the forth coming road closure at Rock Walk the 12/12A service is to be split. Buses will run from Newton Abbot and terminate at the Harbour, dropping passengers on the Strand before going round to Cary Parade to pick Newton bound passengers up. The 12 and 12A Brixham bound buses will start from the Stand, go up Fleet Street, Abbey Rd, Lucius Street, Belgrave Road and turn right onto the Sea Front and on to normal line of route. Coming back from Brixham they will turn up Belgrave Road, right into Lucius Street, Torr Church Road and right into Union Street and down to the Harbour where they will pick up passengers for Paignton and Brixham. There is a possibility that to ease the flow of traffic in Belgrave Road the buses will come up Sheden Hill Road. This will involve through passengers changing buses on the Harbour.
Lots of publicity needed over the next few weeks.

As with any change like this it is the details that make or break the plan. Will the council impose parking restrictions in Belgrave Road and Lucius Street. Will some attempt be made to prevent motorists coming into the Harbour area from the Babbacombe Road. If they do the only place they can go is either into one of two car parks or back up the Babbacombe Road. Too many cars driving round the Harbour area looking for some way through will clog the place up faster than an irate passenger can say,"Why are you late?" If motorist do get to drive round the Harbour they may be tempted to drive up Fleet Street (which is for delivery trucks before 10 am and local buses only). Will some attempt be made to police the entrance to Fleet Street. There will be a few more buses per hour using it for the duration, put a few cars in there and traffic management schools from around the country will be sending their students down to Torquay to study grid lock and how to cause it. 12s and 12As will be going up Fleet Street and Abbey Road not only in the direction of Newton as now but also in the direction of Paignton and Brixham. So passengers waiting at those bus stops will need a clear indication that some of the buses are going to go sailing straight past. I have suggested in the past that "ON DIVERSION" be added to the list of destination blinds. This will remove the number 12 from the front of the bus and reduce the risk of people wondering why the bus didn't stop.

Like I say, it's all in the details and there are a lot more details than those mentioned here.

Back to today; not much happened, it's very quiet really.