Road closed signs have blocked off a Bath road — just one day after council plans to turn it into a liveable neighbourhood caused “chaos.” Winifred’s Lane, at the top of Cavendish Road, is now completely closed to traffic after “road closed” signs appeared on Thursday night.
It comes just one day after Bath and North East Council installed bollards on the road — which caused problems as cars which went up the road by mistake were forced to reverse out onto the junction with next to no visibility. The closure initially blocked in the cars of the one building on the lane, although the signs have now been moved to the sides of the road.
Jason McNally, who lives on Winifred’s Lane, arrived back from international travel late on Thursday — only for his family to be unable to pick him up as the road closure had trapped their vehicles.
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.”
The narrow high-walled lane had been a one way road going north. But on Wednesday Bath and North East Council installed bollards part way up the road, meaning cars leaving Winifred’s Lane now have to pull out onto the junction.
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, drivers who did not realise the bollards were installed had to reverse back down the lane and out onto the junction. Videos seen by the Local Democracy Service show at least 15 different cars making the dangerous manoeuvre.
The bollards are part of the council’s programme of liveable neighbourhoods — also called low traffic neighbourhoods or LTNs — which are intended to stop speeding and rat running on residential areas and create safe and pleasant spaces for walking and cycling. But neighbours have long warned that closing Winfred’s Lane would cause safety issues.
On Tuesday — the day before the scheme was installed — a report by consultants SLR which had been commissioned by the Heart of Lansdown Conservation Group who are opposed to the scheme 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.
After Wednesday and Thursday’s traffic chaos, a spokesperson for the group said: “Just as we have been warning the council for some 10 months — including resorting to winning a High Court challenge against the implementation of the ETRO [experimental traffic regulation order] for Winifred’s Lane — chaos has ensued in the last 24 hours.
“The trial is live and concerns local residents have shared with key councillors and executives about their specific proposals in this scheme have played out – just as our safety report which we delivered to them showed.
“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.”
One council bin lorry had to make a turn across the wrong side of the road to enter Sion Hill (East) after reaching the junction at the top of Cavendish Road. The group said: “Long traffic jams have ensued on Julian Road and Morford Street, home to small businesses and housing for nurses, as traffic seeks to find a way around the closure.
“This traffic is passing the entrance to St Andrews junior school where young children are walked to school exposed to dangerous pollution and blocking bus routes. Sion Hill and its narrow roads, a de facto one way system with narrow pavements and blind bends, is now taking considerably heavier two-way traffic, which also passes another junior school.”
Manda Rigby, the council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “We have received reports of drivers not adhering to the new road restrictions put in place in Winifred’s Lane as part of a six-month trial. 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.
“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.”
Neighbours have warned the plan “sacrifices children’s safety” by pushing more traffic past schools since February. Over 3,000 people had signed a petition urging the council to abandon its plan, and the scheme had to be postponed from its original start date in August after the group brought a legal challenge to the High Court which the council did not contest.