Calls for “less obstructive” solutions to cycle lane’s “driveway-blocking wands” as councillor says “bollards should be replaced with white lines” – but local authority points out drivers are still parking on bike route

The controversy that erupted late last year surrounding the installation of cycle lane wands in the Dorset seaside town of Poole, which saw upset residents claim that they had been “blocked” in their driveways, continues to rumble on, as councillors called this week for the bollards to be removed and replaced with “less obstructive solutions such as white lines or cat’s eyes”.

However, the local council has argued that the wands are necessary to protect cyclists, particularly schoolchildren, who use the Wimborne Road route, pointing out that motorists continue to illegally park inside the bollards on the cycleway and pavement.

In November, the cycle lane on Poole’s Wimborne Road made national headlines after a series of wands were installed at regular intervals along the route, in a bid by the council to segregate the route from traffic and prevent drivers blocking the bike lane with parked cars, creating a safer environment for those using it.

Wimborne Road cycle lane wands (credit: YouTube/DorsetSaferRoads)

The new wands provoked a furious backlash from disgruntled residents, however, who claimed the bollards “blocked” them in their drives, sparking articles in the Daily Mail, Telegraph, and on GB News.

One local, 44-year-old Samantha Clarke, told the local press that on-street parking was removed to make way for the cycling infrastructure and said, “It’s so much more difficult, there’s no turning anymore, you have to go in in a straight line”.

Meanwhile, Debbie Woodcocks branded the wands “ridiculous” and claimed they are “doing more harm than good”, pointing out that “you can’t just reverse out fast anymore”.

Wimborne Road cycle lane wands (credit: YouTube/DorsetSaferRoads)

“Some can’t get out of their driveway,” the Poole resident claimed at the time. “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.”

> Controversial cycle lane wands go viral as furious residents lash out at "blocked" driveways, but local cyclist suggests outrage "overblown" and bike lane bollards only necessary because drivers park in it

Since this initial backlash, some of the wands – purportedly blocking access to homes – have since been removed. And in a meeting of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council this week, Conservative representative Gavin Wright called for the rest of the bollards to be scrapped, claiming that packages can no longer be “safely delivered” on the road.

“There's now no room to stop on the highway as it’s too narrow so that packages from cars, vans, and lorries can't safely be delivered,” the Poole councillor said during the meeting, the Bournemouth Echo reports.

“Are delivery vehicles supposed to negotiate their way down the cycle lane, which they wouldn’t be able to do in the case of lorries anyway, because the bollards are too close together? Or are they supposed to stop in the driving lane which would block it completely on one side? 

“This is a particular problem for building materials, as has been mentioned by a couple of residents as they’re delivered by lorry-mounted cranes.

“They can’t reach over the cycle lane and path to their houses and probably shouldn't be parking on the cycle lane.

“It would seem that these bollards have not been sufficiently thought through and should be removed and replaced with less obstructive solutions such as white lines or cat’s eyes.”

Wimborne Road cycle lane wands (credit: YouTube/DorsetSaferRoads)

Following Wright’s call for the wands to be removed completely, Andy Hadley, the cabinet member for roads and cycle lanes at BCP Council, said he would respond once council officers had been consulted – but also defended the wands and argued they are an “important tool” to protect cyclists, especially when taking into account “the manner of driving by some”.

“The design was adjusted to reduce the risk of flooding into residents’ gardens and homes,” Hadley told the meeting.

“A few people continue to park inside the wands, across the cycleway and pavement. This is illegal. Double yellow line restrictions apply to the back of the highway boundary.

“Given the increasing width of vehicles, and the manner of driving by some, the use of measures like wands to protect schoolchildren in particular, is an important tool, and where officers recommend their use, they will form part of the consultation process on future schemes.”

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Following the initial backlash and negative headlines concerning the bollards in November, Hadley pointed out that preventing drivers from parking their cars in the bike lane was a key factor behind the wands’ installation, while also arguing that that they would prove essential in giving people the confidence to cycle by “affording a degree of separation from moving traffic”.

Wimborne Road cycle lane wands (credit: YouTube/DorsetSaferRoads)

“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,” he said.

“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.”

He did however also accept that in certain locations where the bollards had created “most difficulty”, the council would “listen to feedback” and “adjust the positions of wands to ensure continued property access”.