Melksham's Asda Free Bus Fiasco

I thought about the disabled bit - and prams etc, and a slow gradient upwards from the underpass and one down the other side would of worked just fine, and as you say given a place for lane marking and traffic lights to mount. I bet overall the cost would be no different, much much safer - a crossing doesnt make it safe, it still has to many opportunities for people not to stop, and kids to cross before they should etc.

The traffic lights are still way of out kilter, if someone crosses whilst the traffic is allowed right out of Asda, then they are stopped mis flow mid lane and moments later the M4 bound traffic is allowed to move again - it cant be that hard to calibrate can it??

Similar story with the lights in town at the moment, granted they are temporary, but they are totally set up wrong. When they have gone wrong ( at least twice im aware of in the last 2 weeks as Ive been there ) the traffic fends for itself, and works smoothly and flawlessly - people give way, go slower, and it works. The contractors designing that section would never give the nod for no lights as then they couldnt grant themselves the maintainance contract to fix them constantly!

Well said, Paul. I too have been giving a bit of thought to the footbridge idea, as it would have also hopefully alleviated the problem of traffic heading towards the motorway staying in the left-hand lane and then having to hurriedly cut across the lanes to the right, as there could be clear lane markings overhead.

I wonder though if perhaps considerations for disabled people killed the footbridge as much as anything else? I don't suppose we'll ever know.

Meawnile a bus is never likely to happen for all the good reasons you state above.

I was also hoping to see photos of Asda's mythical rickshaws in the Carnival procession - heard lots about them but have never actually seen one!

Imagine if instead of talking political one upmanship all the time Jon Hubbard had perhaps knocked on the door of Asda and asked where the bus was? Reliably informed by a high up manager there no such thing has happened.

Whats the real basis for this bus anyway, they provide a new infrastructure for people to get there ( albeit a bad one - a footbridge would of worked much better and alot safer ) and then provide a free bus to take people to the town centre - whilst clogging up there own car park? I doubt it - more like a bus to take people out of the town to visit Asda buying all the things they could of got in the town centre and thus putting a couple more nails in, then dropping them back. Who wants that?