Our cars are being ripped to shreds on ‘Britain’s narrowest road’ after council jobsworths put up pointless bollards
ANGRY residents have been left fuming at seeing their cars being ripped to shreds after the council put up ridiculously narrow bollards.
Hundreds of motors have been left damaged or even written off since the bollards were erected on Woodmere Avenue in Watford, Herts.
Hundreds of cars have been damaged or even written off because of the bollards[/caption] Locals have been campaigning for years to remove the pesky bollards[/caption]The road narrowing scheme was initially imposed over a decade ago by the local council in a bid to stop HGVs using the road.
But instead of deterring larger vehicles, the bollards have written off countless cars due to the width of the road and being too close to the edge of the kerbs.
Furious locals have been campaigning to have the bollards removed for over a decade.
And one resident, Tim Vigor, 53, has even recorded scores of unexpecting road users, including a police car, colliding with the restriction over the past few years to help raise awareness of the issue.
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Tim’s CCTV has recorded motor after motor approaching the narrow lane both slow and fast.
But despite the variation in speeds, the outcome was unfortunately similar.
Most vehicles were seen mounting the kerb on the passengers side and brutally slamming into bollards.
And as a result of the angry protestations, the council have been forced to rip down the bollards.
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Herts County Council have now pledged to remove two of the bollards and relocate the remaining four a further six inches away from the road.
However this is only an interim adjustment, with the promise of a Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera hoping to completely remove the restrictions by late 2023.
Tim said: “They reckon they won’t get cameras here until next year.
“As a temporary fix I’m happy because they are acknowledging the problem and starting to do something about it.
The current bollards are square but they will be being changed to round ones.
And although Tim is happy with the start he wants them to remove the “whole thing altogether”.
He continued: “Every day there is plastic everywhere from bits that have been ripped off cars. Literally hundreds have crashed on it.
“I want them to take away the whole thing altogether and put a camera down at the end of the road so that drivers get big fines.
“I’m happy because things are moving but if they don’t see it through I wont be.”
Social media users were mixed in their response to the news.
Peter Black said: “It seems change is on the way.”
“It will be a sad day, this is the gift that keeps giving,” Andrew Melvin quipped.
Nigel Edmunds said: “Get rid of it.”
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council today (TUE) said: “We all know the current situation is not ideal, and we have been engaging with residents, councillors and the local MP to discuss alternatives to the existing bollards.
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“The alterations will see the kerbs upgraded and the bollards set back six inches from the kerb. One of the three sets of bollards will also be removed entirely.
“We hope this measure will help address local residents’ concerns while we develop and consult on a longer-term option to replace the physical width restriction with a camera-enforced weight restriction.”