One-way systems - good and bad

[Bantamzen]

The one-way system at Finsbury Park is still in place, and still extremely nonsensical. A friend who commutes from New Barnet to Holloway Road (on the Piccadilly Line) now has to travel on an earlier mainline train solely because of the one-way system.
For those unfamiliar with what they’ve put in place, people alighting from a London-bound train now have to exit the station at street level, into a bus station, turn left, walk in a busy street under the railway bridge, turn left again - passing through a second bus station on the ‘down’ side of the railway - then left again to enter the recently opened tube ticket hall, down a long passageway and only then down a flight of stairs to the southbound Piccadilly/Victoria lines.
Before this lunacy, she had a very short walk from NR platform to a spiral staircase to access the southbound Piccadilly/Victoria lines.
She timed a recent walk via the one-way system and says that by the time she’d re-entered the station, she would normally already be in the lift at her destination, two stops away on the tube!!
Not only is this route a long detour, it takes her past a lot of other people, whereas the route down the spiral staircase would normally result in her passing at most 2 or 3 people coming up the staircase.
She is minded to just ignore the one-way system.... but can’t, because the spiral staircases are closed-off with metal grilles pulled across!

There's some real lunatics in charge of such decision making. The 2 mile sprint that the management at Leeds set up is a perfect example of under-thinking and over-solving a simple problem (not that it was really a problem in the first palce).

 

[Kite159]

Totally agree. Not allowing the spiral staircases to be used AT ALL is impossible to justify. Plus the lifts, opened to great fanfare before the pandemic, are closed off, too, making an accessible part of the station inaccessible once more!!

I wonder if TfL will reopen the spiral staircases, only as they allow access onto the underground without the usual ticket barriers.

Some management might decide to keep them closed to reduce the risk of fare dodging.

 

[bramling]

Maybe because as a nation we’ve finally realised there’s no harm in passing someone in the street or walking past someone, so long as the other person doesn’t cough at you directly in the face and you’re unlucky enough to breathe in at the same time.

Oh I don’t know, round here there’s still plenty of people holding their nose and turning to face the side when passing in streets or on paths.

 

[Kite159]

Oh I don’t know, round here there’s still plenty of people holding their nose and turning to face the side when passing in streets or on paths.

Or walking into a field where crops are being grown just to avoid passing someone else where they might be less than a metre away for a mere seconds.

 

[DB]

Oh I don’t know, round here there’s still plenty of people holding their nose and turning to face the side when passing in streets or on paths.

Here it seems to be a weekend thing nowadays! Presumably those who do this spend weekdays behind the sofa.

 

[Hadders]

I wonder if TfL will reopen the spiral staircases, only as they allow access onto the underground without the usual ticket barriers.

Some management might decide to keep them closed to reduce the risk of fare dodging.

I'd hope not given that the additional spiral staircases were only installed a couple of years ago.

I seem to remember there are plans to put barriers onto the National Rail entrance at Finsbury Park which would all but solve the problem.

 

[spinba11]

Are they allowed to close lifts off? If I use the station I would kick off big time.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

I haven't seen an enforced one way system in a shop for a while now.

One way systems in supermarkets have been reduced to just segregating entrants from exits. They don't even seem to build queues outside any more by having someone count people in and count them out.

 

[DB]

One way systems in supermarkets have been reduced to just segregating entrants from exits. They don't even seem to build queues outside any more by having someone count people in and count them out.

Marks and Spencer still very much does queues during the busy part of the day. Tesco hasn't since the summer.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I complained to chiltern about how ineffective the one way system at Marylebone. Since I complained they've increased the number of staff supervising the one way system

 

[Kite159]

I've had to queue to get into the local Asda a couple times in recent weeks, but normally less than 5 minutes.

Regarding Marylebone, a great way to say "welcome back" to the railways with bouncers shouting at passengers for daring to go the wrong way.

 

[Hadders]

There were queues outside some supermarkets last weekend, trade was very busy due to the run up to Mother's Day. I expect similar in the busy days prior to Easter.

 

[Kite159]

How long before some of the one way systems which have been removed in the last couple months make a comeback when passenger numbers pick-up when shops/pubs reopen from Monday?

I'm thinking about Leeds

 

[yorksrob]

How long before some of the one way systems which have been removed in the last couple months make a comeback when passenger numbers pick-up when shops/pubs reopen from Monday?

I'm thinking about Leeds

The original one at Leeds never really worked. The current one on the wide footbridge seems to work - unless one believes that passing momentarily in a very airey covered space represents a high risk of infection - which of course it doesn't.

 

[Cdd89]

Pets At Home (Cambridge Beehive) have installed a nice complicated one (at this rather late stage), along with a new shop alone rule (because naturally).

Works well when shopping with a dog!

 

[johntea]

The most pointless one way system now in Leeds station is McDonalds, literally nobody is going to snake round the barrier maze to the 'entrance' side of the door when they can much more easily just walk straight in (and then back out) through the 'exit' side!

 

[Kite159]

What is the idea behind the one way system at Clapham Junction. The entrance from the shopping centre is entry only meaning the smaller (in terms of less barriers) area at the top (near the toilets) is busier as that is two way with people entering there to give direct access to the overbridge (which is probably busier than it would be as the subway is exit only)

Plus the purple jacket shouters were out in force last Friday shouting to keep left. Great waste of money, but that's Network Rail for you

 

[yorkie]

What is the idea behind the one way system at Clapham Junction

Most of them appear to be box ticking exercises.

I've also heard Doncaster is a bit bonkers; anyone able to report on that?

 

[Kite159]

Most of them appear to be box ticking exercises.

I've also heard Doncaster is a bit bonkers; anyone able to report on that?

Which was useful last year but these days cause a headache and crowding at pinch points (ie the stairs leading to the overbridge for people exiting on the southern side of the station, whereas before the flow would be split.

 

[MikeWM]

I've also heard Doncaster is a bit bonkers; anyone able to report on that?

Didn't seem especially bad when I passed through a few times last week. Of the two sets of stairs between the booking hall and the main underpass, one is designated 'up' and one 'down', which can involve a minor diversion but nothing too bad. (The direct entrance between the booking hall and the shopping centre has been closed too, so to go that way you now have to go out and in again, but that didn't look to be obviously Covid-related).

I didn't do anything crazy like have to trek over to platform 0 or similar - maybe that is worse.

 

[davews]

Clapham Junction has an issue in that the only loos are as far as you can get from most platforms...

 

[johnnychips]

Didn't seem especially bad when I passed through a few times last week. Of the two sets of stairs between the booking hall and the main underpass, one is designated 'up' and one 'down', which can involve a minor diversion but nothing too bad. (The direct entrance between the booking hall and the shopping centre has been closed too, so to go that way you now have to go out and in again, but that didn't look to be obviously Covid-related).

I didn't do anything crazy like have to trek over to platform 0 or similar - maybe that is worse.

No, it’s not terrible. It’s not been helped by the fact they have been renewing the flooring on the underpass and stairs, so there have been bits boxed off, off and on, over the last two months. On the other hand, not having the exit directly to the Frenchgate Centre from the station - you have to go outside and in again - is COVID related, and like so many other things, seemingly pointless. I would be very annoyed if I were the Subway and Smiths franchisees that loads of people no longer walk past.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

One way systems in supermarkets have been reduced to just segregating entrants from exits. They don't even seem to build queues outside any more by having someone count people in and count them out.

Except at Aldi, Brighton (London Road) they have two perfectly serviceable doors next to each other. You’d think they designate one for entry, one for exit, but no, they have people coming and going through one door, just so a security bod can observe and click on a device that counts entries. The hand sanitizer station just inside the door means if people use it, they complete block egress from the store !!

 

[londonbridge]

Come into Clapham Junction on a paper ticket and need to tap in to continue my journey on contactless. Up the stairs, turn right, down the stairs to platform 1. Staff member stops me going down the first set of stairs to the underpass. Walk halfway along the platform to the next set of stairs where I’m allowed down. Go down to underpass, go through gateline, turn round, tap in. Start walking along underpass and another staff member stops me and asks what platform I want. When I tell her 13 she says I need the footbridge! Why, what difference is it really going to make if I walk through the underpass and stay on the left?? Back up another set of stairs to platform 1 then back up to the footbridge, by the time I’ve got to 13 I’ve missed the next two Croydon trains! If restrictions do get lifted on July 19th how long are these ridiculous systems going to remain in place?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

To my great and pleasant surprise this morning while exiting the Underground at Liverpool Street I found that while the Underground concourse itself is still divided in half, it is now possible to turn right at the top of the stairs instead of everyone having to funnel round to the left.

 

[185143]

To my great and pleasant surprise this morning while exiting the Underground at Liverpool Street I found that while the Underground concourse itself is still divided in half, it is now possible to turn right at the top of the stairs instead of everyone having to funnel round to the left.

That's a very recent change then as it was still in force on Wednesday.

 

[Kite159]

To my great and pleasant surprise this morning while exiting the Underground at Liverpool Street I found that while the Underground concourse itself is still divided in half, it is now possible to turn right at the top of the stairs instead of everyone having to funnel round to the left.

That was an idiotic design, especially as they still had seating in the area reducing the width of the passageway.

The one-way system at Cardiff Central (one set of stairs to enter the platform with the other set to exit) seems to work well, until you get to platform 8 which only has one set of stairs!

 

[Dent]

Not a one-way system - actually quite the opposite. A Co-op I know originally had separate a entrance and exit, but now they have closed off the entrance door and made the only way in through the exit door, past the checkouts and everyone exiting. No idea what the thinking was behind that one.

 

[Bikeman78]

To my great and pleasant surprise this morning while exiting the Underground at Liverpool Street I found that while the Underground concourse itself is still divided in half, it is now possible to turn right at the top of the stairs instead of everyone having to funnel round to the left.

Must have been a one off. The funnel to the left was there today. Tottenham Hale also has a stupid one way system. They've even fenced off the stairs on the up side of the north footbridge forcing people to use the escalator which leads out into the rain. This nonsense needs to end ASAP.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Must have been a one off. The funnel to the left was there today. Tottenham Hale also has a stupid one way system. They've even fenced off the stairs on the up side of the north footbridge forcing people to use the escalator which leads out into the rain. This nonsense needs to end ASAP.

Interesting... only yesterday the exit was still both ways out of the Underground.

Re: Tottenham Hale, that reminds me I meant to check recently if they still have the conflicting flow on the older bridge at the London end of the station, but i forgot to have a look ( see earlier in this thread for what exactly they did there! )