Dave Arquati wrote:
Richmond seems like a nice place. It has a pleasant riverside, a
good variety of shops, and pretty good public transport.

It's a shame it seems to be totally clogged with cars. The
environment outside the railway station is pretty unpleasant, and
makes a stark contrast from the riverside. The bus station is also
in a very odd place and seemed to be rather poorly used
(considering it serves such a busy town) when I passed through it.

It was probably the only available site, and it's not bad from an
operational point of view, being just off the one-way system. But the
stops on the roads in the town centre are more convenient for most
people.

What consideration has been given to closing the road outside the
station to private vehicles, given that they can't stop there
anyway to visit the shops as there are stopping restrictions along
the entire length of the street? Church Road looks like an
appropriate diversionary route on paper, but is it so in practice?

Well, for a start, there's a public car park next to the station, though
it might be possible to construct a different access to it. There were
plans for pedestrianisation in the 1970s which never came to anything.
Not sure if the subject has been raised more recently. Church Road is
fine off-peak for traffic entering Richmond from the A316, but in the
other direction tailbacks from the Richmond Circus roundabout (A316/A307
junction) clog the right turn out of Church Road.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)