Wolverhampton bus station overhaul moves on
Friday 29th October 2010, 11:29AM BST.
The £22.5 million overhaul of Wolverhampton bus station is moving into its next phase with the last of three new walkways being installed.
Once completed, they will transform the way passengers move around the station as there will be no pedestrian crossings. People will instead access bus stands via walkways.
These pedestrian routes will be equipped with glass doors that automatically open when the vehicle arrives.
At the old station, which was on the same site, people had to cross the road to get to their bus stand.
Transport authority Centro is overseeing the project.
Spokesman Steve Swingler said: “The new bus stands will be fully enclosed and so protected from the elements.
“Passengers do not have to cross any roads within the new interchange, greatly improving safety and convenience.
“We are pleased with the way work is progressing on the interchange. It has gone smoothly so far and as a result it remains on schedule.”
The new bus station in Pipers Row is being built as part of a bigger scheme to replace the city’s bus and rail station.
Its replacement will have 19 stands, glass waiting areas, electronic information points and CCTV security.
The new station will also have public toilets, offices and retail space.
The second phase of the scheme, worth more than £154m, will see canalside bars, offices and hotels built.
But the Express & Star revealed earlier this year that plans to build a £30m car park on top of Wolverhampton train station are being revised due to a lack of cash.
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Ah yes! A glittering bus station amidst the dereliction. A shiny pebble on a beach full of shingle.
The tram extension will not reach it.
The improvements to the railway station have stalled.
Nothing has been done to revitalise Lichfield Street and Queen Street.
Nothing has been done to remedy the shabby nature of Dudley Street and Mander Centre shops.
and of course the bus station is a good walk from the centre… rendering it a white elephant.
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White elephant?
Can you suggest somewhere closer to the centre that could be used as a bus station? I can’t think of any – and there are buses to the centre.
Not exactly a good walk, I can do it in a few minutes.
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There is no need for a bus station. END
When buses were in their heyday Wton had no bus station and people were able to alight close to the shops.
All it needs is to restore Wton’s traditional road network.. complete the flyovers of the ring road (which would have been a better use of the money)… open up the City Centre roads again so that they can serve the businesses on them…
This is the least costly and most effective remedy to Wton’s problems.
Meanwhile the site of the bus station would make a very good multi-storey car park…. as too would the supposed Summer Row development.
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So you talk about ‘opening to city centre’s roads to serve the businesses’, but yet you want a multi-storey car park on the site of the bus station? A site you say is ‘a good walk to the centre’
At the end of the day, this new bus station was needed as it became too dangerous for buses to move around safely at times. The corners were too tight and accidents were inevitable.
It’s a shame the funding isn’t there for Summer Row, otherwise people wouldn’t be moaning about the bus station. They’d be seeing it as a pillar in the future of Wolverhampton. But oh well. I guess this somewhat shows the fickle nature of human kind.
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Oh dear Robert WwfcKostur you have been reading too much propoganda.
Corners too tight? Which ones? Wolverhampton has good broad roads and they are not crowded with traffic as they were when buses used to stop at the roadside.
It is true modern day buses are too large for our roads… That applies wherever they run and there is no benefit from their lumbering size. However the increased size is obtained by extending in front of the front wheels.. Transport chiefs boast these buses have a smaller turning circle.
Finally, how does a bus station make it possible for buses to run on roads you claim are too tight? How will your buses be delivered to the station?
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22 and a half million quid ????
Blimey !
Whose pocket is that money ending up in ?
Should have spent the money cleaning up our “Dirty Old Town” instead.
New Bus Station – why do people want to come to Wolverhampton anyway these days ?
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I’d rather go elsewhere like Merry Hill, Telford or Shrewsbury too!
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Very little reason to come to Wolvo anyway. Hardly any decent shops, full of chavs, dirty, dull and uninspiring.
The new bus station is going to be lovely, but in no time it will look exactly like the old one did, filthy, the floor covered in gum, graffity covering every available surface and rubbish blowing about. It will need security teams 24\7 if this is to be avoided.
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If there was 24/7 security and the yobs kept away then maybe the older folk with money to spend will actually take a trip down to the city centre on the bus and spend.
The old bus station was terrible. It needs to feel as safe as an aiport to be sucesfull.
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Ah, that well known London resident Mr Holland once again writes to the paper to tell those of us who live here just what should be done to our home city. The doctor fefinitely does not have the cure. Perhaps he could relocate to the place he professes to love, then he would be listened to with more respect.
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I was once given some very good advice. If you have nothing to say then say nothing.
Wolverhampton is my home. Soon I shall return. I want it to resemble the great City in which I was born and not Hiroshima in 1946.
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You can’t have been away for long since Wolverhampton was granted City status in 2001.
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I just realised.
They are copying Coventry bus station!!!! What a con. More targets for thieves I think!!!
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Of course there are problems and a lot needs to be done to make Wolverhampton more appealing to outside investors for example.
The new bus station must be seen in this context and a push in the right direction.
Building new roads and improving public facilities doesn’t come cheap.
At least an effort is being made and we should all try and be a little more positive at even the smallest of improvements.
Talking Wolverhampton down isn’t going to make things any better.
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Well said. It’s an almighty pain with so much being done at once but the end result will be worth it.
For those who can’t wait to get out of Wolverhampton; a central transport hub will enable people to do just that with a minimum of inconvenience. Just don’t bother coming back if the place is so awful.
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Mr Holland, if you were born in the great city of Wolverhampton, you can be no older than ten!
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