I spent a little time observing the drop-off zone on Sunday and I think LTNman's comments are spot on. Driver behaviour is to use the first part of the zone only, and even when the traffic is queued up, the second part of the zone if half empty. I've been thinking of ways it could be redesigned given its location and shape. Thinking logically, I think the traffic flow has to be divided up, and I've come up with the following:
Pros
Both lanes of traffic go into the zone and split naturally so won't need to filter down to 1 lane
Each car has to give way to only 1 pedestrian crossing
Number of pedestrian crossings reduced to 2, so easier to marshal (although this a small downside for pedestrians)
Cons
No re-entry lane for cars which get to the end of the zone without being able to drop-off (in reality does this ever happen?)
c.15% reduction in kerb-side drop-off available space
Short term parking only traffic would be caught up in any congestion
I don't claim to be a road planner, but this is pretty much all I could come up with to redesign it in the current location. Any other ideas?