Urgent Petition:  Stop the Floating Bus Stops on East Hill, Colchester

Colchester residents were told the changes to East Hill would not include floating bus stops, but four are being installed. The cycle lanes, however, are routed onto the pavement at the bus stop creating a shared space with bus passengers, pedestrians and people riding bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. These shared use bus stops are not safe or accessible for blind people and are dangerous for everyone else. 

Sheila Townsend, a deafblind pensioner who lives locally, walks up and down East Hill everyday, will be seriously impacted by the changes at the bus stops has set up this petition. All Sheila wants is:

• Safe and accessible bus stops and pavement, where all bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists do not have to share space.  
• For all bus passengers to be able to board and alight the bus direct from the pavement without having to share it with cyclists, or step into or cross a cycle lane to do so.

Sheila hopes you can support her petition which she will be handing into the Prime Minister on the 12th October 2026 and to Essex County Council and Colchester City Council.  

More information...

Essex County Council have started the works on East Hill to remove the existing bus stops and replacing them with 4 floating bus stops, after telling residents they would remove them from the scheme. By sleight of hand, they are replacing the previous designs with so-called ‘shared space’.  Cycles, e-bikes, e-scooters and cargo bikes will be routed onto the pavement at the bus stops, where people get on and off the bus and where pedestrians will be passing through.  

Sheila will not have safe access to her bus stops any longer as she cannot detect silent bikes many which will be going at speed and will be put into direct danger with fast moving cyclists and e-bike riders being routed onto the pavement at the bus stops, along with many other older, disabled, blind, deafblind, partially sighted and non-disabled pedestrians and bus passengers.  

Bus passengers and pedestrians should not have to share space with cyclists, e-bikes etc at bus stops.  British Standard BS8300-1:2018 Design Of An Accessible & Inclusive Built Environment provides for this situation in Section 6.2.2 on Bus Stops where there are cycle lanes and bus stops, it states 'and pedestrians should have access to and from the bus stop without crossing cycle routes'. 

The Bus Services Act 2025 says “floating bus stop” means an area in the immediate vicinity of a stopping place for local services, which is designed for use by people accessing the stopping place (Bus Stops), and so as to incorporate a cycle track.

These are clearly floating bus stops!

This film by the National Federation of the Blind of the UK 'Buses are our lifeline' explains the concerns over floating bus stops - https://youtu.be/SB9OlmkJ968?si=N9LhSS7eydz6Q0x5.

Injures filmed by the NFBUK at floating bus stops include:

• A child being knocked down at a floating bus stop https://youtu.be/TU0ggTmh45I?si=8aY1pgjcqKGMgWYS
• A pensioner being knocked down by a cyclist at a floating bus stop https://youtu.be/V3GDBXwZgOo?si=fj4C1O_-UjZo6TkR

Please sign, support and share Sheila’s petition:

We the undersigned are fearful of the conversion of the bus stops on East Hill. Bus stops should be safe and accessible places, where everyone can catch the bus without fear of cyclists travelling at speed towards them and through the floating bus stops.  We the undersigned call on Essex County Council to stop work on East Hill immediately and remove the areas of shared use/floating bus stops and keep cyclists on the carriageway. Those cyclists that fear passing a bus, should stop and wait for the bus to move on.