Driveways blocked by council's new cycle wands

BCP Council has installed several wands in Wimborne Road, Poole, to separate the road from the cycle lanes but some are now blocking access to driveways or making life “difficult”. 

And in some cases, residents claim the council promised dropped kerbs outside their driveways and paid £100 before being told it was cancelled ahead of the cycle lane works. 

Some have not been given their money back a year later, residents have told the Echo. 

Samantha Clarke, 44, said she was “promised” a dropped kerb outside her home and applied to BCP Council for the planning permission required. 

BLOCKED: Cycle wands have made life difficult for residents (Image: Daily Echo)

“Eventually I got a letter from them saying ‘no, you can’t have them anymore, we’re putting the cycle lanes there instead’,” she said. 

“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.” 

The 44-year-old added: “My neighbour Jane complained to the council about the wand outside her driveway and they eventually removed it, but it was blocking it 

“It’s so much more difficult; there’s no turning into the driveway anymore. You have to go in in a straight line.” 

REMOVED: One had to be taken down because it blocked two driveways (Image: Daily Echo) (Image: Daily Echo)

Debbie Woodcocks blasted the “ridiculous” cycle wands and questioned the reason for them being installed as it is “doing more harm than good”. 

She said: “Some can’t get out of their driveway. It’s bad enough cycle lanes have been put there. Trying to reverse out now takes a lot longer and it’s a lot harder. 

“You can’t just reverse out fast anymore, the council has made it more difficult now. 

“Residents here also don’t have a dropped kerb despite being told before that they would put a dropped kerb in. I have all the letters for it.”  

Another Wimborne Road resident, who asked to be nameless, added the cycle wands are a “waste of space” because “people are still parking in the cycle lanes”. 

Andy Hadley, cabinet member responsible for roads and cycle lanes at BCP Council, said: “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.” 

BCP Council's spokesman apologised for the "inaccurate" letters sent promising dropped kerbs for residents, adding residents can reclaim their money.

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.

"Any residents with outstanding applications for planning or highways permissions associated with this letter and who now wish to withdraw their application can contact transformingtravel@bcpcouncil.gov.uk for a refund.”

Andy Hadley, cabinet member at BCP Council (Image: BCP Council)

Wimborne Road’s cycle and walking work forms part of the £102m transforming cities fund and is part of the route connecting Merley and Poole town centre. 

Funded by the government, the work also saw parking spaces removed, the road resurfaced and pedestrian crossings upgraded. 

Cllr Hadley added: “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.”