Neighbours fuming as cycling bollards ‘block them from using driveways’

Drivers are in uproar after being blocked from using their driveways after their council installed bollards along a new cycle route outside their homes.

The bollards – which the council calls “wands” – have been put in place to stop cars parking on the newly-laid bike lanes.

But affected residents who live next to the route say the bollards have made getting in and out of their driveway “dangerous” and a “nightmare”, and have left some with nowhere to park at all.

The bike routes, found on both lanes of Wimborne Road in Poole, Dorset, were installed as part of a £120million scheme to build a 50-mile-strong cycle lane network across the county’s southeast.

Liberal Democrat coalition-led Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, which has declared it’s in the midst of a “climate emergency”, has said the scheme would make travel more sustainable and reduce congestion on the roads.

But locals have blasted the scheme as a waste of taxpayers’ money, with some claiming the council installed dozens of the cycle bollards without any notice.

Debbie Woodcocks, 50, a carer who now has two bollards in front of her driveway, said BCP Council had made it “a nightmare trying to get out”.

She said: “I’m just infuriated by it. At least before you could reverse out with some more haste but now you’ve got to navigate those things which force you to reverse into the other side of the road.

“It’s made things more dangerous for cyclists and drivers, and I think an accident is more likely now,” she said and warned that emergency vehicles would now face a tough time trying to navigate the narrower streets.

MORE NEIGHBOUR ROWS:

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Homeowner Samantha Clarke, 44, said one of her neighbours had complained to the council about the wand outside their driveway, forcing the authority to remove it because it was blocking it.

She added: “But it is so much more difficult now… There’s no turning into the driveway any more. You have to go in a straight line.”

Before the cycle lanes were put in place, residents were invited by BCP Council to file a £100 application to have a dropped kerb installed along the road to make parking easier.

Clarke said she was promised said dropped kerb – and had applied for the planning permission required – but to no avail.

She said: “Eventually I got a letter from them saying: ‘No, you can’t have them any more, we’re putting the cycle lanes there instead.

“I paid £100 for the planning but haven’t got that back a year on. And they took the parking away on the road to put the cycle lanes in.”

But the council has hit back with a spokesman for the authority saying they wanted to protect the cycle route from parked cars – but would consider “adjusting the positions” of bollards which had blocked property access.

Andy Hadley, BCP Council’s roads and cycle lanes cabinet member, said: “We are committed to creating safe, sustainable and active ways for people, including schoolchildren, to travel locally to and from Poole town centre along this busy road. To encourage people to cycle they must feel confident that they are safe.

“These wands are intended to give them that confidence, by alerting both people cycling and those driving vehicles to the presence of the cycle route, affording a degree of separation from moving traffic and preventing vehicles from blocking the cycle lane.

“The team have attempted to balance maintaining access to driveways with protecting the cycle route, but have listened to feedback from residents and acknowledge that a few traffic wands have been installed in locations that impact informal access to properties.

“In locations where this creates the most difficulty, we are looking at adjusting the positions of the wands to ensure continued property access.”

He also apologised for the “inaccurate” letters promising dropped kerbs for residents, and have told locals that they can reclaim their £100.

He said: “We sincerely apologise for sending inaccurate letters to residents on Wimborne Road and for raising expectations.

“The letters lacked clarity on the planning and highways permissions required to support the installation of dropped kerbs.

“Furthermore, these permissions could not be attained in the timeframes outlined in the letter. We understand how frustrating and confusing this must have been.

“The offer to adjust kerbing should only have been offered to a handful of households whose properties were within the planned kerbing alterations being undertaken as part of improvement work.

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

But affected residents who live next to the route say the bollards have made getting in and out of their driveway “dangerous” and a “nightmare”, and have left some with nowhere to park at all.

The bike routes, found on both lanes of Wimborne Road in Poole, Dorset, were installed as part of a £120million scheme to build a 50-mile-strong cycle lane network across the county’s southeast.

Liberal Democrat coalition-led Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, which has declared it’s in the midst of a “climate emergency”, has said the scheme would make travel more sustainable and reduce congestion on the roads.

But locals have blasted the scheme as a waste of taxpayers’ money, with some claiming the council installed dozens of the cycle bollards without any notice.

Debbie Woodcocks, 50, a carer who now has two bollards in front of her driveway, said BCP Council had made it “a nightmare trying to get out”.

She said: “I’m just infuriated by it. At least before you could reverse out with some more haste but now you’ve got to navigate those things which force you to reverse into the other side of the road.

“It’s made things more dangerous for cyclists and drivers, and I think an accident is more likely now,” she said and warned that emergency vehicles would now face a tough time trying to navigate the narrower streets.

MORE NEIGHBOUR ROWS:

Neighbours locked in row with Superdry boss over ‘eyesore’ tents in Cotswolds‘Sleep-deprived’ woman SCREAMS at noisy neighbour at 4am in row over his carNightmare neighbour’s loud music sparked OVER 700 complaints

Homeowner Samantha Clarke, 44, said one of her neighbours had complained to the council about the wand outside their driveway, forcing the authority to remove it because it was blocking it.

She added: “But it is so much more difficult now… There’s no turning into the driveway any more. You have to go in a straight line.”

Before the cycle lanes were put in place, residents were invited by BCP Council to file a £100 application to have a dropped kerb installed along the road to make parking easier.

Clarke said she was promised said dropped kerb – and had applied for the planning permission required – but to no avail.

She said: “Eventually I got a letter from them saying: ‘No, you can’t have them any more, we’re putting the cycle lanes there instead.

“I paid £100 for the planning but haven’t got that back a year on. And they took the parking away on the road to put the cycle lanes in.”

But the council has hit back with a spokesman for the authority saying they wanted to protect the cycle route from parked cars – but would consider “adjusting the positions” of bollards which had blocked property access.

Andy Hadley, BCP Council’s roads and cycle lanes cabinet member, said: “We are committed to creating safe, sustainable and active ways for people, including schoolchildren, to travel locally to and from Poole town centre along this busy road. To encourage people to cycle they must feel confident that they are safe.

“These wands are intended to give them that confidence, by alerting both people cycling and those driving vehicles to the presence of the cycle route, affording a degree of separation from moving traffic and preventing vehicles from blocking the cycle lane.

“The team have attempted to balance maintaining access to driveways with protecting the cycle route, but have listened to feedback from residents and acknowledge that a few traffic wands have been installed in locations that impact informal access to properties.

“In locations where this creates the most difficulty, we are looking at adjusting the positions of the wands to ensure continued property access.”

He also apologised for the “inaccurate” letters promising dropped kerbs for residents, and have told locals that they can reclaim their £100.

He said: “We sincerely apologise for sending inaccurate letters to residents on Wimborne Road and for raising expectations.

“The letters lacked clarity on the planning and highways permissions required to support the installation of dropped kerbs.

“Furthermore, these permissions could not be attained in the timeframes outlined in the letter. We understand how frustrating and confusing this must have been.

“The offer to adjust kerbing should only have been offered to a handful of households whose properties were within the planned kerbing alterations being undertaken as part of improvement work.

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

But affected residents who live next to the route say the bollards have made getting in and out of their driveway “dangerous” and a “nightmare”, and have left some with nowhere to park at all.

The bike routes, found on both lanes of Wimborne Road in Poole, Dorset, were installed as part of a £120million scheme to build a 50-mile-strong cycle lane network across the county’s southeast.

Liberal Democrat coalition-led Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, which has declared it’s in the midst of a “climate emergency”, has said the scheme would make travel more sustainable and reduce congestion on the roads.

But locals have blasted the scheme as a waste of taxpayers’ money, with some claiming the council installed dozens of the cycle bollards without any notice.

Debbie Woodcocks, 50, a carer who now has two bollards in front of her driveway, said BCP Council had made it “a nightmare trying to get out”.

She said: “I’m just infuriated by it. At least before you could reverse out with some more haste but now you’ve got to navigate those things which force you to reverse into the other side of the road.

“It’s made things more dangerous for cyclists and drivers, and I think an accident is more likely now,” she said and warned that emergency vehicles would now face a tough time trying to navigate the narrower streets.

MORE NEIGHBOUR ROWS:

Neighbours locked in row with Superdry boss over ‘eyesore’ tents in Cotswolds‘Sleep-deprived’ woman SCREAMS at noisy neighbour at 4am in row over his carNightmare neighbour’s loud music sparked OVER 700 complaints

Homeowner Samantha Clarke, 44, said one of her neighbours had complained to the council about the wand outside their driveway, forcing the authority to remove it because it was blocking it.

She added: “But it is so much more difficult now… There’s no turning into the driveway any more. You have to go in a straight line.”

Before the cycle lanes were put in place, residents were invited by BCP Council to file a £100 application to have a dropped kerb installed along the road to make parking easier.

Clarke said she was promised said dropped kerb – and had applied for the planning permission required – but to no avail.

She said: “Eventually I got a letter from them saying: ‘No, you can’t have them any more, we’re putting the cycle lanes there instead.

“I paid £100 for the planning but haven’t got that back a year on. And they took the parking away on the road to put the cycle lanes in.”

But the council has hit back with a spokesman for the authority saying they wanted to protect the cycle route from parked cars – but would consider “adjusting the positions” of bollards which had blocked property access.

Andy Hadley, BCP Council’s roads and cycle lanes cabinet member, said: “We are committed to creating safe, sustainable and active ways for people, including schoolchildren, to travel locally to and from Poole town centre along this busy road. To encourage people to cycle they must feel confident that they are safe.

“These wands are intended to give them that confidence, by alerting both people cycling and those driving vehicles to the presence of the cycle route, affording a degree of separation from moving traffic and preventing vehicles from blocking the cycle lane.

“The team have attempted to balance maintaining access to driveways with protecting the cycle route, but have listened to feedback from residents and acknowledge that a few traffic wands have been installed in locations that impact informal access to properties.

“In locations where this creates the most difficulty, we are looking at adjusting the positions of the wands to ensure continued property access.”

He also apologised for the “inaccurate” letters promising dropped kerbs for residents, and have told locals that they can reclaim their £100.

He said: “We sincerely apologise for sending inaccurate letters to residents on Wimborne Road and for raising expectations.

“The letters lacked clarity on the planning and highways permissions required to support the installation of dropped kerbs.

“Furthermore, these permissions could not be attained in the timeframes outlined in the letter. We understand how frustrating and confusing this must have been.

“The offer to adjust kerbing should only have been offered to a handful of households whose properties were within the planned kerbing alterations being undertaken as part of improvement work.

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

But affected residents who live next to the route say the bollards have made getting in and out of their driveway “dangerous” and a “nightmare”, and have left some with nowhere to park at all.

The bike routes, found on both lanes of Wimborne Road in Poole, Dorset, were installed as part of a £120million scheme to build a 50-mile-strong cycle lane network across the county’s southeast.

Liberal Democrat coalition-led Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, which has declared it’s in the midst of a “climate emergency”, has said the scheme would make travel more sustainable and reduce congestion on the roads.

But locals have blasted the scheme as a waste of taxpayers’ money, with some claiming the council installed dozens of the cycle bollards without any notice.

Debbie Woodcocks, 50, a carer who now has two bollards in front of her driveway, said BCP Council had made it “a nightmare trying to get out”.

She said: “I’m just infuriated by it. At least before you could reverse out with some more haste but now you’ve got to navigate those things which force you to reverse into the other side of the road.

“It’s made things more dangerous for cyclists and drivers, and I think an accident is more likely now,” she said and warned that emergency vehicles would now face a tough time trying to navigate the narrower streets.

MORE NEIGHBOUR ROWS:

Neighbours locked in row with Superdry boss over ‘eyesore’ tents in Cotswolds‘Sleep-deprived’ woman SCREAMS at noisy neighbour at 4am in row over his carNightmare neighbour’s loud music sparked OVER 700 complaints

Homeowner Samantha Clarke, 44, said one of her neighbours had complained to the council about the wand outside their driveway, forcing the authority to remove it because it was blocking it.

She added: “But it is so much more difficult now… There’s no turning into the driveway any more. You have to go in a straight line.”

Before the cycle lanes were put in place, residents were invited by BCP Council to file a £100 application to have a dropped kerb installed along the road to make parking easier.

Clarke said she was promised said dropped kerb – and had applied for the planning permission required – but to no avail.

She said: “Eventually I got a letter from them saying: ‘No, you can’t have them any more, we’re putting the cycle lanes there instead.

“I paid £100 for the planning but haven’t got that back a year on. And they took the parking away on the road to put the cycle lanes in.”

But the council has hit back with a spokesman for the authority saying they wanted to protect the cycle route from parked cars – but would consider “adjusting the positions” of bollards which had blocked property access.

Andy Hadley, BCP Council’s roads and cycle lanes cabinet member, said: “We are committed to creating safe, sustainable and active ways for people, including schoolchildren, to travel locally to and from Poole town centre along this busy road. To encourage people to cycle they must feel confident that they are safe.

“These wands are intended to give them that confidence, by alerting both people cycling and those driving vehicles to the presence of the cycle route, affording a degree of separation from moving traffic and preventing vehicles from blocking the cycle lane.

“The team have attempted to balance maintaining access to driveways with protecting the cycle route, but have listened to feedback from residents and acknowledge that a few traffic wands have been installed in locations that impact informal access to properties.

“In locations where this creates the most difficulty, we are looking at adjusting the positions of the wands to ensure continued property access.”

He also apologised for the “inaccurate” letters promising dropped kerbs for residents, and have told locals that they can reclaim their £100.

He said: “We sincerely apologise for sending inaccurate letters to residents on Wimborne Road and for raising expectations.

“The letters lacked clarity on the planning and highways permissions required to support the installation of dropped kerbs.

“Furthermore, these permissions could not be attained in the timeframes outlined in the letter. We understand how frustrating and confusing this must have been.

“The offer to adjust kerbing should only have been offered to a handful of households whose properties were within the planned kerbing alterations being undertaken as part of improvement work.

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