Kent County Council Concrete Bus Stop Pole Replacement Project

A programme of works will take place in early 2017 to replace Kent's remaining concrete bus stop poles with modern alternatives. The project, which has the support of Kent's eight Quality Bus Partnerships (QBPs), will result in a number of safety, aesthetic and practical benefits and will allow for more efficient ongoing maintenance.

This KCC briefing note has been prepared in order to advise of the reasoning for the project and to provide details of its upcoming implementation.

Reasoning for the Project

Condition of Infrastructure:

Through surveying, it has been identified that there are 235 concrete bus stop poles still in situ across the County, the majority of which are in a very poor state of repair. A number of these poles are suffering from concrete cancer (degradation caused by the presence of contaminants or the action of weather combined with atmospheric properties) and are likely to deteriorate further or collapse over future years if left un-treated. In addition, many of the existing poles have old bus stop flags (with incorrect information) and no timetable information due to an inability to fit a timetable case because of the pole condition. The project will see new hard wearing replacement poles installed which all have up to date flags and timetable cases matching KCC's corporate style. It is known that consistent branding and improved infrastructure increases ridership in many instances and enhances the passenger experience.

Safety Implications:

If hit in a RTC, it is known that concrete poles can result in significant levels of damage / injury. KCC are seeking to adopt a "safe systems" approach to engineering, in line with safety audit principles. This discusses the fact that drivers / riders make errors and so the infrastructure should (where possible) allow for such and not contribute to injury. The new poles will replicate those in place across the rest of the County and will consist of either steel or bracketed poles (which detach from sockets if struck).

Works Programme / Scheme Detail:

In total work will take place at 212 stops across the County between 9th January and 17th February 2017. In all instances new poles will either be installed at the existing location or at an improved location adjacent to the same property boundary. An additional 23 stops have been identified where existing poles are either on private land, are extremely close to a residential building / wall or where a re-location to outside an adjacent property boundary is required. These stops do not form part of this programme and will be subject to a separate consultation process with affected properties.

Disruption to traffic and local residents will be kept to a minimum whilst works are conducted with localised traffic management in place where necessary. Working times at each location are likely to be as little as 30 minutes to 1 hour. Particular attention is drawn to the following:

• When in a re-usable condition, existing bus stop infrastructure (timetable cases / clearway plates etc.) will be transferred to new poles. If the existing infrastructure is in a poor condition then new parts will be installed.
• In a number of instances existing poles have no timetable case present. In instances such as these a new case will be installed and timetable information posted in due course.
• A number of existing poles have other infrastructure attached to them e.g. bins, neighbourhood watch signs etc. In these instances the contractor has been instructed to transfer all such items on to replacement poles.
• New bus stop flags will be provided on all new poles which will be in KCC's corporate style deployed throughout the County. There will be a short delay between the pole being installed and the new flags being fitted. In this short interim period a temporary flag will be fitted.
• At some stops the opportunity will be taken to undertake additional works where necessary e.g. the refresh of bus stop clearway markings.
• The type of replacement pole used will be determined by such factors as other nearby infrastructure types, service frequency and local circumstances.

Contact Information:

If there are any queries in relation to the scheme please contact:

Email - Bus.Stops@kent.gov.uk

Write to - Public Transport | Policy & Strategy Team | Kent County Council | PO Box 441 | Aylesford, ME6 9HJ