Thursday, 13 February 2014

Tram and Bus shelters smashed in 90mph winds

Flexity 010 passing the damaged shelter at Sandhurst Avenue on 13th Feb, the promenade was closed off to all traffic
The Fylde Coast was in the Met Office red alert zone during the afternoon and evening of the 12th February, due to being in the path of a severe storm that was moving up the west coast of the country. 90mph winds tore into the Fylde Coast during the evening, causing havoc and destruction, with many brick walls, trees, windows and roofs being damaged or destroyed by the ferocity of the wind. Blackpool Transport were not immune to the weather, during the height of the storm in the evening all bus and tram services were suspended. At least two passenger shelters were severely damaged, a bus stop on Dickson Road behind the Hilton Hotel was totally destroyed, and one of the new tram shelters at Sandhurst Avenue on top of the cliffs was uprooted by the gales, causing the promenade to be closed to all road traffic in both directions the following day.

The tram shelter at Sandhurst Avenue that was uprooted by the 90mph winds on the evening of the 12th February
A bus shelter on Dickson Road behind the Hilton Hotel was totally destroyed by the gales on the evening of 12th Feb

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2 comments:

  1. Unknown14 February 2014 at 23:06

    Interesting that the shelter on the sea-side of the tracks does not appear to be damaged. Seems to me that the gales had an umbrella effect on the damaged shelter as it was cantilevered out facing the sea and therefore caught the full force of the gales. Having said all that, those shelters do seem somewhat flimsy given that the Fylde Coast is no stranger to gale force winds. I'm not suggesting they should go back to the old style Blackpool Corporation shelters but believe something a bit more substantial should be erected. Just my 2 cents worth.

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  2. Alan Robson15 February 2014 at 11:24

    The end support pillars of the shelter on the landward side were also only about two feet apart, making it inherently unstable, unlike the shelter on the seaward side where the end panels are the full width of the shelter. The reason for this is probably because the platform width is narrower on the landward side, due to the restrictive space between the tram tracks and the roadway.

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