People on a Bath lane say they have been “completely ignored” by the council which has closed the road.
Resident Jason McNally by the road closed signs on Winifred’s Lane | Image courtesy of Jason McNally
Bollards were installed on Winifred’s Lane on Wednesday 6th November to restrict through traffic as part of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s liveable neighbourhood programme.
But cars continued driving up the lane and had to reverse back out onto the junction, with the council returning the next day and closing the road.
Last Thursday evening, 7th November, Jason McNally arrived back from abroad to find that the road which his house is on was blocked off with road closed signs and traffic cones.
His house is one of only three properties on Winifred’s Lane.
He said: “They forgot about us and that’s the issue I have. They have completely ignored that we live here.”
Mr McNally said he did not support the liveable neighbourhood scheme on Winifred’s Lane, as it would only force traffic to go elsewhere and create more problems.
No through road and “new road layout ahead” signs had been installed along with the bollards, but had been ignored or missed by many drivers.
The council said it had put the road closed signs in place because it was the “quickest, most effective” way to stop people continuing to drive up the road — but that it was not intended to block access for people who live on the lane.
Winifred’s Lane before the restrictions were installed
Council officers returned on Friday morning, 8th November, to move the signs to the side of the road so that people could still access the driveway on the lane.
But Mr McNally said the gap was not big enough to drive through. He said: “Even if we could go through the signage, we can’t then actually see.”
Winifred’s Lane is a narrow lane with high walls on each side all the way to the junction.
Until the bollards were installed, it had been a one-way road going north — with drivers not able to pull out onto the junction to the south.
Visibility for cars leaving the homes on the lane or having to reverse after entering the road by mistake was specifically raised as a concern by a report by consultants SLR commissioned by the Heart of Lansdown Conservation Group who are opposed to the scheme and published on Tuesday 5th November, the day before the scheme was introduced. The report warned the scheme should not go ahead.
The council now plans to replace the road closed signs with bespoke signage to “reinforce” that traffic cannot access Winifred’s Lane.
Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service what would happen with the scheme now, the council re-stated that it was a six-month trial under an experimental traffic regulation order as part of the council’s liveable neighbourhood programme.
Although the road closed signs were moved to the sides of the road, Mr McNally said on Friday that they were still causing issues.
He said: “It’s my son’s birthday on Sunday and we have six deliveries due today. Already, one has highlighted the road is closed and the parcel has been taken back to the depot.
“If there is an emergency, can an ambulance or fire engine get to my house? Is this fair?”
Arriving back from the airport last Thursday evening, Mr McNally said: “I have come home with two suitcases to find that my road has been closed. I see this is because the council has realised that the traffic was doing what we said it was going to do: It would still come up Winifred’s Lane and then reverse into the main road.
“There have been so many near misses in the last 24 hours, they have had to close the road. As a consequence, my wife has not been able to come and collect me. I have had to get a taxi home from the train station.”
He added: “It’s a disgrace. The council need to rethink what they are doing and cancel this particular LTN.”
A consultation will run alongside the six-month trial of the scheme before a decision is made on whether to make it permanent.
Manda Rigby, the council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “Plenty of signs are in place at the point of the restrictions and on the advance route, and we expect people to adhere to the rules.
“Ignoring road signs is an offence that could result in these drivers receiving fines or points on a licence.”
Ms Rigby said that the council had conducted safety audits ahead of the scheme going ahead but declined to be interviewed.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
