I would like to nominate the bus stop halfway down New Winchelsea Road on the way into Rye, for the unwelcome accolade of worst bus stop in Rye. Certainly it is not the safest or most comfortable place to await a bus at the best of times. It consists of six paving slabs set into the verge of the busy A259, with hedges behind and on each side. These hedges are often overgrown and bus drivers report that it is difficult to see passengers waiting at the stop. This I can believe, as I have had to walk along the verge in the narrow space between the hedge and a bus that has overshot the stop on more than one occasion.
In the summer months, there is a fair chance that the driver will see me, if I wave vigorously enough, but as the evenings draw in, the whole experience becomes more dangerous. For a start, the street light opposite seems to work only half the time, which means the only way of signalling my presence is by waving a torch or my phone and leaning into the traffic to ensure I am seen. Add rain or wind or both into the equation and the whole experience becomes so miserable that it is almost enough to put me off travelling at all.
I have no idea how anybody who is less able-bodied than me could use this bus stop in a safe manner. The space is narrow and the traffic often passes much faster than the speed limit. One mis-step into the road could be fatal and I doubt it would be possible to access it at all with any kind of mobility aid.
Not content simply with grumbling to myself, I decided to find out who was responsible for this state of affairs and logged two issues online: on the state of the overgrown hedges with East Sussex County Council and regarding the intermittently working street light with National Highways. I await their responses with interest but not a huge amount of anticipation.
