Fury in UK seaside town where locals claim their driveways are blocked by bollards

Furious residents successful a seaside municipality assertion they tin nary longer usage their driveways - due to the fact that of council-installed bollards successful a motorcycle lane extracurricular their homes. 

Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council erected the 1 metre precocious posts successful a bid to forestall cars from parking successful the recently created rhythm lanes.   However, residents on Wimborne Road successful Poole accidental they person obstructed entree to their driveways - and near immoderate radical with obscurity to parkland astatine all.

The rhythm lanes, located connected some sides of the road, are portion of a £120 cardinal strategy to physique a web of astir 50 miles of rhythm paths successful southeast Dorset. The assembly says the task volition marque question much sustainable and trim congestion. 

However, captious residents accidental the strategy was a discarded of taxpayers’ money. They allege that the assembly installed dozens of bollards without immoderate notice.  

Some accidental the person made manoeuvring retired of their drives and onto a engaged roadworthy “dangerous”. Debbie Woodcocks, 50, said the bollards person made leaving her location a “nightmare".

She told The Telegraph she was "infuriated" by however hard it has been to get retired of her drive. She also believes the bollards person made the concern "more dangerous" for cyclists and drivers alike. 

She besides suggested that the narrowing of the roadworthy could impede exigency vehicles. Her neighbour Samantha Clarke, 44, is likewise annoyed.

She said helium had been promised a dropped kerb extracurricular her location and had paid £100 to use for the required readying permission. However, she said she has present been told she can't person the driblet kerb due to the fact that the assembly decided to prioritise the cycling lane.  

Express.co.uk has contacted BCP assembly for comment. A spokesperson for BCP assembly told The Telegraph it volition see “adjusting the positions” of bollards that were blocking spot access. 

However, they besides reiterated that they privation to support the rhythm way from parked cars. 

Andy Hadley, liable for roads and rhythm lanes,  told The Telegraph:  “We are committed to creating safe, sustainable and progressive ways for people, including schoolchildren, to question locally to and from Poole municipality centre on this engaged road.

“To promote radical to rhythm they indispensable consciousness assured that they are safe.  These wands are intended to springiness them that confidence, by alerting some radical cycling and those driving vehicles to the beingness of the rhythm route, affording a grade of separation from moving postulation and preventing vehicles from blocking the rhythm lane.

“The squad person attempted to equilibrium maintaining entree to driveways with protecting the cycle route, but person listened to feedback from residents and admit that a fewer postulation wands person been installed successful locations that interaction informal entree to properties.

“In locations wherever this creates the astir difficulty, we are looking astatine adjusting the positions of the wands to guarantee continued spot access.”

Mr Hadley besides apologised for the “inaccurate” letters sent promising dropped kerbs for residents. He said that tin reclaim their £100.

“We sincerely apologise for sending inaccurate letters to residents connected Wimborne Road and for raising expectations. The letters lacked clarity connected the readying and highways permissions required to enactment the installation of dropped kerbs.  Furthermore, these permissions could not beryllium attained successful the timeframes outlined successful the letter. We recognize however frustrating and confusing this indispensable person been.

“The connection to set kerbing should lone person been offered to a fistful of households whose properties were wrong the planned kerbing alterations being undertaken arsenic portion of betterment work.

“We person contacted the residents who had responded to the letter, apologising for our error, and offered a refund to those who wanted to retreat their application.”