Decision-makers in Exeter have pledged to learn from the mistakes of last year’s troubled traffic experiment in Heavitree and Whipton.
Decision-makers in Exeter have pledged to learn from the mistakes of last year’s troubled traffic experiment in Heavitree and Whipton.
Public protests and petitions objecting to the introduction of the ‘active streets’ trial emerged quicly after traffic restrictions were introduced in a number of busy residential streets. There were several flashpoints in the streets, and angry exchanges between supporters and opponents of the trial, which was eventually abandoned after the outcry.
“The consultation processes were not what they could have been,” Cllr Carol Whitton (Lab, St Davids and Haven Banks) told Devon County Council’s Exeter highways and traffic orders committee (HATOC) this week.
“We have had to deal with the fallout from that, and we need to restore the community’s faith in the process.”
Last summer a decision was taken to stop it early in the face of growing opposition.
Supporters said it made the streets safer and less polluted, but opponents claimed it made journeys longer and moved pollution problems elsewhere. They also said local people had not been properly consulted.
HATOC members agreed to set up a series of focus groups involving local schools and community organisations.
The aim was to learn from the short-lived trial and work on different ways of making travel around Exeter safer, particularly near local schools.
The results of the focus groups were presented to the HATOC, with a series of ‘next steps’ recommended.
Cllr Tracy Adams (Lab, Pinhoe and Mincinglake) said the groups had been ‘heartwarming’ at the end of a very difficult trial, with a number of positive pointers for the future.
She said safety should be a focus going forward, and added: “We can’t wait for there to be some horrible accident outside Ladysmith School before we do anything.”
And, she added, it was important to take on board the views of the public.
“Democracy is important,” she said. “People have given their views very clearly, and if we don’t do something about that we have to analyse ourselves as a council and think about what we are doing for our residents.”
Cllr Su Aves (Lab, St Sidwells and St James) said people had got back into bad habits since the trial finished, cycling on pavements and parking on zig-zag lines outside schools.
Councillors would be asking for more enforcement, she said, and more fixed penalty tickets to be handed out.
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