Bath locals said they faced 24 hours where “chaos has ensued” after Bath and North East Somerset Council installed bollards on a narrow lane. Bollards have been installed on Winifred’s Lane as part of the council’s programme of liveable neighbourhoods (also called “low traffic neighbourhoods” or LTNs).
But Jason McNally, who lives on Winifred’s Lane, said on Thursday: “There have been so many near misses in the last 24 hours, they have had to close the road.”
Neighbours said that the bollards were fully installed on Winifred’s Lane by about 4.30pm on Wednesday November 6 and, by 5.30pm on Thursday November 7, the council had been back to place “road closed” signs at the entrance to the lane.
But for the just over 24 hours in between, locals said they faced “chaos.” Driver after driver can be seen on video ignoring new signage and heading up the lane, only to meet the bollards and be forced to reverse back out onto the junction with next to no visibility.
You can see a compilation of motorists reversing and other traffic woes at the top of this article
A no through road sign and new road layout signs are in place, but drivers had continued to drive up the road. Now the road closed signs have been put in place to reinforce the message to drivers.
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.
A spokesperson for the Heart of Lansdown Conservation Group said: “There have been serious safety issues with near traffic and cyclist misses, road blockages and this morning recycling/rubbish lorries unable to pass the bollards in Winifreds Lane. It appears even the basic utilities weren’t informed by the council of the closure.”
A report by consultants SLR commissioned by the group and published Tuesday November 5 — the day before the scheme was due to go ahead — had warned that vehicles entering the lane by mistake would be forced to reverse onto the junction and that visibility was “insufficient to be safe.” The council insisted that the impacts of the scheme would be monitored.
Along with the bollards, a new traffic island was installed on Sion Hill (East). There is now no right turn from Cavendish Road onto Sion Hill (East). But on Wednesday, one council bin lorry had to drive across the wrong side of the traffic island to make this right turn.
Ms Rigby said: “Within the experimental road traffic order provision was made permitting our waste recycling lorries to access all properties. On collection days they are able remove the bollards to travel north up Winifred’s Lane.”