(Yesterday, 4:14 pm)Kimlfixit wrote On the business parks point, the parking shortages actually reinforce the argument rather than undermine it. If car demand already exceeds supply, that’s precisely the scenario where viable alternatives are needed. But people won’t switch unless buses are competitive on reliability and journey time, which brings us back to priority and congestion on the wider network, not just the final mile.

On Durham Road, limited stretches of bus lane don’t equate to continuous priority. If buses still have to negotiate multiple congested junctions, general traffic lanes, and mixed-running sections, the overall journey remains slow and unreliable. 

That’s why isolated priority measures rarely deliver dramatic improvements on their own.

More broadly, the lack of improvement over decades reflects the growth in traffic volumes overwhelming piecemeal interventions. That’s not evidence bus priority doesn’t work, it’s evidence it hasn’t been applied consistently or extensively enough to offset rising car use.

On the business park front, I agree public transport is needed. That's why I have mentioned it a number of times. 
However it goes back to the network going to places the public want at an affordable price.
Not necessarily bus priority. 
Bus priority won't fix the lack of a direct bus to/from Seaham to Doxford International or the lack of any bus that will get someone to Quorum from Walker. 
They're just going to continue to fight for spaces or hope they win a competition. 

Unfortunately, the lay of the land through Low Fell will dictate how any bus lanes or priorities work.
They're there, they have been for 35 years and haven't made any huge difference. 
I'd argue the lay of the land for the vast majority of the North East would dictate any priority measures were designed similarly. 
If that means they will only ever be 'piecemeal', then the ROI will never be achieved. 

Unless a new road is put in to place, such as Centre Link or something is done to a main road, such as the Wardley Bus Gate. 
Neither of which have stood the test of time or justified the investment made. 

What would you suggest would work?