Is The Nightmare On The Buses Going To Get Worse?
This morning after photographing the finish of the Bank Station Upgrade, I walked down the side of the new Cannon Street entrance to catch a 141 bus from King William Street to my home.
Note.
- There are two bus stops for the 21, 43 and 141 buses on King William Street; one Northbound and one Southbound.
- The bus stops are a two minute level walk from the gate-line at the Cannon Street entrance.
- To go between the gate-line and the Northbound stop requires no crossing of any road, but the route to the Southbound stop requires the use of a light-controlled crossing.
- The Cannon Street entrance is step-free and only a short walk, between the street and the platforms of the Docklands Light Railway and the Northern Line.
- The access to the Central Line is also easy, but a longer walk.
This afternoon, I walked the other way from the Southbound bus stop on King William Street to the new Cannon Street entrance of Bank station.
Note.
- It is a totally level walk.
- There are lights to help the crossing of King William Street.
- The concrete building on the other side of King William Street is the other end of the new station entrance.
- It looked to me, that there was a retail unit in the corner of that building. This was confirmed by station staff and it would surely be an ideal place for an upmarket takeaway.
- The building on the corner of Cannon Street and King William Street is a set of shared offices. Again it is in a prime position.
- You can also walk from the bus stop to the main Monument station entrance.
I timed myself from the Southbound stop on King William Street to the various platforms.
- Central Line – Under five minutes
- Dockland Light Railway – Under four minutes
- Northern Line – Under three minutes
Will these times encourage passengers to use the new entrance and its buses to North London?
If I was looking for offices for a foreign company, that wanted to be in the City, as I do occasionally for an American attorney, I would start in this area.
Step-Free Access On The Northern Line Is Rather Variable
If you look at the step-free access on this section of the Northern Line, you find the following.
- Euston – Escalators – No Lifts until High Speed Two
- King’s Cross – Escalators – One Lift to platform
- Angel – Escalators – No Lifts – Medium walk to the buses
- Old Street – Escalators – No Lifts – Medium walk to the buses
- Moorgate – Escalators – Long Lift route – Medium walk to the buses
- Bank (North) – Escalators – Lots of Steps – Medium walk to the buses
- Bank (Cannon Street) – Escalators – Two Lifts to platforms – Short walk to buses
- London Bridge – Escalators – One Lift to platform – Steps to buses
Note.
- If I was going between My House and the Northern Line South of Bank station, I’d change between the 141 bus and the Northern Line at the Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
- Alternatively, I can take a 38 bus to the Angel and join the route there. But that route can be very slow coming North, as there is a lot of walking. Going South, it’s also likely to be blocked by a Tesco truck at the Angel.
- Between My House and the Docklands Light Railway, I’d change from the 141 bus at the Cannon Street entrance to Bank station.
- I might even take that route, if I wanted the Central Line out of Bank.
It does appear that as the new Cannon Street entrance to Bank station has been well-designed with full step-free access and short walks to the bus stops, that it will be the interchange of choice for many travellers to and from the area, who are using the buses.
Conclusion
I feel that a lot of passengers from North London will use the 21, 43 and 141 buses to access the Central and Northern Lines, and the Docklands Light Railway using the new Cannon Street entrance to the Bank station complex.
I very much feel that all three bus routes will have a lot more passengers, so the Nightmare On The Buses, is likely to get worse.
How Not To Sell Flatpack Furniture
I recently bought a Teknik Kneeling Stool from Ryman.
As is shown by these pictures, I was able to put it together and the product looks the business.
But the pictures hide the big fault of the stool!
It has the worst set of instructions, I’ve ever seen for flat-pack, which are shown in this image.
Basically, it’s just a parts list and a vague layout.
- I had to have several goes to assemble it.
- Assembly is job for at least three hands.
- Some parts must be assembled before others and this is not indicated.
- A colour photograph of the finished product would have helped.
- I did catch my finger badly at one point.
But then I like puzzles and eventually solved it.
I shan’t be buying any more Teknik products.
Walthamstow’s Funereal Style Road Barriers
These pictures show how Walthamstow has blocked off roads in the Borough.
They do remind me very much of the sort of designs you see in the windows of undertakers.
A Design Crime – The Average Smoke Detector
On Saturday Evening, the smoke detector in my bedroom decided to go off.
I was able to silence it about three times, but it refused to go off permanently.
I then decided to take it down, by standing on the bed.
Unfortunately, I slipped and broke the detector.
It is not the first altercation, I have had with the cheap and nasty smoke detectors in this house, which were probably bought in Istanbul market for a few pence.
- In my view, there is a need for a superior type of smoke detector wired into a building in a better way.
- It should be possible to replace a failed detector, like I had on Saturday in a simple operation without any tools.
- There should also be a master switch in the house, that switches off all the smoke detectors.
- Instructions on how to deal with the smoke detectors in case of failure should be in an obvious place in the house, like on the door of the meter cupboard.
Smoke detectors are too important, to be designed down to the cheapest possible station and most are a true design crime.
Is A Microsoft Surface Pro, Windows 10 and OneDrive A Toxic Combination For This WordPress User?
I have now got a brand-new Microsoft Surface Pro and quite frankly except for the large screen, it is a load of old crap!
I run Office 365 and store my files on OneDrive and I have done for nearly a year, but the combination seems to lock me out of my Excel files on the OneDrive all the time.
- I can’t seem to Autosave like I used to, as it says that I am blocked.
- It also keeps showing me non-responsive login buttons to OneDrive.
- It tells me I am required to sign in to save the file, but won’t let me sign in.
Knickers and twist come to mind!
And then there’s WordPress.
I am trying to change a picture, which I want to upload into a post.
I get the Select File page, but it is totally unresponsive.
Luckily, I could change the picture using a Windows 7 laptop.
Will The Queen Be Amused?
The picture shows another terrible bus livery in dark colours.
Try spotting one of these in the distance with dodgy eyesight!
There seems to be a design competition, to see who can design the most camouflaged bus!
When I first saw this bus, I thought it was advertising Crown’s new paint for the Army!
I Have Just Setup My July Tax Payment
I received my Self Assessment Statement yesterday and have just setup the payment on-line.
My father didn’t do any Government printing, as he said, that they always wanted very small type and at fifty, his eyes weren’t up to it.
I find in checking the account to pay the money, that the form is still confusing and I need to get my magnifying glass out.
- There would also appear nowhere to print a large format version of the instructions.
- Or details in another language for that matter!
- There is a help web-address at the bottom. In very small type. It should be in an easy-read twelve point type.
HMRC can do better!
But they don’t care, as if you put in the wrong amount, it’s your fault not theirs.
The Anonymous Widower 