CCTV cameras being considered at notorious crash hotspot
Woodmere Avenue width restriction, Watford. (Image: Stephen Danzig) Motorists can share their views about “nightmare” bollards in a Hertfordshire cut-through. The infamous Woodmere Avenue width restriction hit headlines after “hundreds” of drivers smashed into the posts, and the traffic calming measure even has its own Facebook group with 5,800 members.
Hertfordshire County Council “recently” moved the bollards, between the A41 Colne Way and Bushey Mill Lane, to reduce the risk of bumps and scrapes. But authority chiefs have launched a consultation[1] on its website to see whether they “should consider going further” in making changes to the filter – by putting up cameras or removing the width limit altogether. “A width restriction and bus-only gate has been in place for decades to protect the local streets from heavy goods vehicles cutting through the Tudor estate while allowing access for buses,” they wrote on the council website.
“The width restriction has been effective to some extent, but some drivers drive through the bus gate instead. “We recently modified the width restriction and moved the bollards to reduce the risk of vehicles hitting them when passing through. This has improved the overall situation, but we want to know whether we should consider going further.”
Woodmere Avenue’s width restriction is 2.1 metres (7ft). A short, two-way bus lane through the middle – known as a bus gate – is wider, with no entry for motorcyclists, or car, van or lorry drivers. Hertfordshire County Council has proposed four options for the filter.
The first is to make no changes. “Local residents and HGV drivers know the current restriction at Woodmere Avenue and which routes they use to reach destinations,” the suggestion reads. “The width restriction is possibly helping drivers travel at lower speeds along Woodmere Avenue as they approach the restriction.”
Story continues The authority could add a camera to enforce the bus gate, so “drivers of any vehicles other than buses and exempted vehicles will be liable to a penalty charge notice if they pass through the bus gate”. A third option features a remodelled filter, removing the width restriction but introducing a five-tonne limit, but the authority fears “vehicles may travel faster along Woodmere Avenue if they do not have to drive through a width restriction”.
A five-tonne restriction could also be enforced with cameras – a fourth option.
The World Bollard Association page on X (formerly Twitter) named a video clip of the restriction “the greatest bollard performance in history”.
References
- ^ launched a consultation (www.hertfordshire.gov.uk)