THERE is a growing sense of frustration in Evesham due to motorists taking advantage of broken traffic bollards in pedestrianised areas of the town centre.
Automatic rising bollards should be in operation at the bottom of Bridge Street – a pedestrianised zone – near the junction with Mill Street but they have been out of action for more than two and a half years despite promises by the county council that they would be fixed last summer.
The legal traffic regulation order applies Monday to Saturday and prohibits all vehicles between the hours of 10.30am and 4.30pm which should be enforced by the replacement rise and fall bollards.
Outside of those hours delivery vehicles can enter the zone to load/unload and cycles can also be used. A yellow, no-waiting at any time sign, prohibits vehicles from stopping at any time, although under the Highway Code there is a 20-minute window for loading/unloading.
As reported by the Observer last August these regulations are being consistently ignored and vehicles including taxis are using the street as a cut through to High Street. People also park on the road overnight.
Evesham resident Adrian Peake who regularly accesses the street with his partner, a wheelchair user, said the whole situation was “a joke”. He wants to know why police are not doing anything about these regular traffic violations and demands action be taken.
Adrian said: “It’s farcical. We have a pedestrian area that is not being enforced. Cars are ignoring it left, right and centre.
“This is a joke. Every town in France and Spain I visited last autumn that had bollards were all fully functional. The council needs to get the bollards sorted and in the meantime the street needs to be properly enforced.”
In addition, two electronic bollards in Market Square are also out of action and subsequently not stopping cars and vans entering from Vine Street and parking in the historic core of the town.
When asked why new bollards had not yet been installed a spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “Unfortunately, the company who had agreed to undertake the barrier installation in August was unable to proceed.
“Following this decision, we have continued to approach numerous contractors. We have now identified two new contractors and are awaiting quotations.
“As soon as the contract is awarded, we can move forward with the planning and provide timeframes on when the work will start.”
The Observer has contacted West Mercia Police and is still awaiting comment at the time of writing.
