Hawthorn Drive Bust Stop

A WORRIED resident has called for a busy bus stop to be relocated before someone gets hurt.

Mrs Andrews has lived near the bus stop in Hawthorn Drive for 14 years, but is concerned by how busy the stop has become since the opening of Suffolk One sixth form.

The bus stop, which is between Sprites Lane and Radcliffe Drive, is used by many of the students at the Scrivener Drive college to get home, but Mrs Andrews doesn’t believe the pathway is large enough to accommodate the high volume of students.

She said: “When there are 20 to 25 children getting the bus, they’re blocking the path and people’s driveways and creating a real hazard for people walking on the path.”

Although Mrs Andrews said the students are well-behaved, she is concerned the overcrowding could lead to a serious accident and thinks the stop should be moved or that a new service should be laid on for the students nearer to the college.

“I appreciate there’s always been a bus stop there,” she said. “But Suffolk One hasn’t always been there. The path is very narrow and it was never there to accommodate that amount of people.”

Suffolk One vice principal Jenny Milsom said: “Obviously we are pleased to hear that our students are being well-behaved and naturally their safety is our utmost priority.

“However, we were not aware that this was an issue, so we will be in contact with the council to fully understand the issues with a view to establishing a solution.”

An Ipswich Borough Council spokesman said: “While we sympathise with the situation, we are unable to relocate the bus stop as there is nowhere else on this stretch of road where it could be positioned safely.”

The spokesman added that putting on a new service nearer to Suffolk One would be “a commercial decision by Ipswich Buses”.