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Walthamstow-Palmers Green-North Finchley 'Superloop' bus gets go-ahead

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Proposed stops on the X34 (now SL1) Superloop route as consulted on. TfL have now decided to add additional stops at the Crooked Billet in South Chingford and near the new Meridian Water development in Edmonton.

Transport for London have decided that the proposal for a new "Superloop" express bus route numbered SL1 (originally numbered X34) will go ahead, following the original route but with some additional stops at the Crooked Billet roundabout in South Chingford and close to the new Meridian Water development in Edmonton.

Another change to the proposal as consulted on is that the frequency of the evening service on the all-stops route 34 between Walthamstow and High Barnet will not be reduced, meaning that passengers using stops not served by the express service will not have longer waits.

This information was included in a recently published report about the consultation that ran earlier this year.

The SL1 will form part of a "Superloop" of limited-stop bus routes in outer London forming a complete ring around the capital, designed to facilitate radial journeys that are currently difficult or slow to make by public transport. There will be ten routes in all, numbered from SL1 to SL10 in a clockwise sequence. The SL10 will connect with the SL1 at North Finchley and will run as far as Harrow. The vehicles used on these routes will have improved internal information displays and USB charging points for mobile phones.

SL1 Superloop consultation: Next steps

(Excerpt from the full consultation report)

Following careful consideration of all the feedback we received to the consultation, we have decided to proceed with our proposals but with some adjustments.

The new express route will now serve South Chingford by stopping at two additional stops at the Crooked Billet Roundabout. These new stops are on the existing route proposed and therefore will have very little impact on journey times.

We have added additional stop locations at Meridian Water to better serve the development and provide improved pedestrian access. The service would now stop at stop H (Eley Trading Estate) and stop J (Ravenside Trading Estate).

We are no longer proposing to reduce the frequency of the existing bus route-34 in the evenings, so the 34 will continue to have a service of buses every 12 minutes in the evenings. This is to ensure there is a reliable and frequent bus service during hours of darkness for people to make local journeys between stops which may not be served by the new express route.

All issues raised in the consultation will be answered in a Response to Issues Raised.

Read the full report

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Posts in discussion: Walthamstow-Palmers Green-North Finchley 'Superloop' bus gets go-ahead
PGC Webmaster posted a reply
#6952
13 Sep 2023 23:04
The Enfield Dispatch website has further information about the SL1 Superloop bus decision . It highlights the absence of a stop near the North Middlesex Hospital, something requested by, among others, the hospital itself, Enfield Council, London Assembly member Joanne McCartney and the Enfield Transport Users Group.

Problems with accessing the North Mid by public transport are not new. Various buses do stop near or at the hospital, but the nearest trunk bus routes (34, 102, 144) have a stop which claims to be at the hospital, but is actually in Silver Street. Walking from the stop to the hospital involves a pedestrian underpass beneath the busy A406 (thankfully, now redecorated, but have the flooding problems been fixed?). For people using Silver Street station, campaigns for a proper pedestrian crossing using the "desire line" at the stretch of Sterling Way near the station (actually, once part of Silver Street) have not yet succeeded (but surely will eventually), so the walk is unnecessarily long and not very nice. And a lot of people risk their lives and do cross near the station.

Incidentally, readers who use the S6 to visit the hospital from Palmers Green may not be aware that the official "North Middlesex Hospital" stop in Silver Street is not actually the nearest place to get off the bus. There is hail and ride stop immediately after the bus turns left into Hazelbury Road, which reduces the walking distance significantly.
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