Walthamstow council bans cyclists from riding in Mini-Holland

[The Bald Eagle]

Transport Xtra have published an article (below) detailing the number of tickets being handed out to motorists at a location in Walthamstow that is part of its Mini-Holland programme, which is being funded to the tune of about £30m. The scheme is the legacy of BoJo and was set up to encourage the use of bicycles.

So I thought I would have a look on Googlemaps to see what signs they are using to rip off motorists to the tune of £881k in less than a year.

Imagine my surprise when I saw them using NO VEHICLES signs instead of the NO MOTOR VEHICLES signs we are used to seeing at the likes of Connell Crescent. According to the TSRGD a bicycle is a vehicle. Oh dear! Someone f****d up. Or did they?

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5822628,-0.0136801,3a,45.5y,77.89h,85.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHCN1BK_hcbcthPpZW444Lw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

AMENDED A cynic might suggest that someone at the council thought that motorists might be more likely to recognise and comply with the low flying motor bike signs than ones that have nothing whatsoever in them, so that by using the latter they might maximise their income from this honeypot.

Not that it's all ALL ABOUT THE MONEY of course.

It can't be.

Councillor Loakes says so.

I had assumed that the council originally installed the flying motorbike signs and changed them to the other ones, but it was in fact the other way round. And why did they change them? It might have had something to do with this adjudication found on the London Tribunals register.

Case Details
Case reference 2160126408
Appellant xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Authority London Borough of Waltham Forest
VRM xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PCN Details PCN FR24160417
Contravention date 10 Feb 2016
Contravention time 15:13:00
Contravention location Orford Road E17 Restricted Area (cctv)
Penalty amount GBP 130.00
Contravention Failing to comply with veh. type prohibited sign
Decision date 10 Jun 2016
Adjudicator Mamta Parekh
Appeal decision PCN appeal allowed
Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice.

Reasons This case was previously adjourned as follows:-
"The appellant attended the personal hearing listed for today. I found her to be an honest and sincere witness. She stated that she suffers from a heart condition and rarely drives but the vehicle is used by her cousin who denied seeing any road signs. The appellant states that she had not received the evidence from the local authority and their video evidence did not work when she tried to access it. The first time she saw the video was at the hearing. The appellant stated that the signs were not clear as there was a blank inside the circle and there was insufficient time to read and digest the wording below. I have checked the traffic signs manual. Although the sign used is a prescribed sign it is not commonly seen as appears to be designed to be used in a "Play Street" where even cycles are prohibited unless being pushed by pedestrians. The local authority's traffic management order does in fact permit pedal cycles and local buses and therefore the more
common and clearer sign, and one which motorists more easily recognise would have been sign 619 with a car and motorcycle inside the red circle. I accept that the blank inside the circle does in fact distract the
motorist from the wording below in the short time span involved from within a moving vehicle to interpret the sign. The local authority are therefore requested to explain the choice of signs used and make representations as to why the signage should be considered to be valid in light of the fact that it does not correctly convey the local authority's traffic management order. "

The local authority have not responded. I am not satisfied that the signage was valid and therefore allow this appeal.


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Thousands of motorists ignoring Mini-Holland traffic ban

More than 15,000 fines have been issued to motorists who have flouted a traffic ban on a route in Waltham Forest over the past year.



The Orford Road scheme in the Walthamstow Village area is part of the Mini-Holland programme funded by former London Mayor Boris Johnson to make routes safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

Orford Road has been designated a traffic-free route between 10am and 10pm with the exception of the W12 bus service and emergency services. 



A fixed camera captures contraventions, which are then reviewed by a civil enforcement officer who then determines if a fine should be posted to the driver. Over the past year 15,827 penalty charge notices have been sent out, an average of 43 fines a day. To date £881,480 has been paid in fines, said the council.

The Orford Road scheme is one of a series of changes to traffic routes in the north-east London borough, including closing off some roads to through-traffic. Next year segregated cycle paths will be installed along most of the busy Lea Bridge Road while the Whipps Cross roundabout will be re-configured into a signalised junction with separate crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.



Waltham Forest received £27m in Mini-Holland funding, with £3m from other funding sources. Enfield and Kingston-upon-Thames were both awarded Mini Holland grants of £30m each, though both have implemented few schemes so far.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, told Local Transport Today: “We wanted to reduce rat-running traffic, noise, pollution and congestion down Orford Road and create a better environment for children, shoppers, pedestrians, cyclists and people living in the village.”

The traffic ban on Orford Road was introduced in May 2015, with a grace period of three months before camera enforcement began. 

”We knew that a road change like this would take some getting used to for everyone, especially drivers who used to use it to cut through,” said Cllr Loakes. “Since it was introduced we are already starting to see a reduction in tickets where people are getting used to the new road layout. The closure was never about making money, but the income it has raised will be re-invested into our roads as it has to be spent on highway related matters like maintaining our roads, fixing potholes and contributions to parking schemes.”

Find out more about Waltham Forest's Mini Holland programme at Transforming London’s Streets.

https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/49696/thousands-of-motorists-ignoring-mini-holland-traffic-ban

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By the way, I have contacted the writer of the article to point out that the signs in the picture he published do not show what signs are currently in place. I also pointed out that someone at the council made the conscious decision to replace the correct signs with the ones currently in place. 

[The Bald Eagle]

Turns out the council knew they had the wrong signs but took nearly a million quid off motorists anyway. There's a word for this kind of thing. It's on the tip of my tongue... 

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Council blunder left cyclists banned from Mini-Holland road in Walthamstow



 A COUNCIL blunder meant signs put on a road that is part of its Mini-Holland scheme actually barred cyclists.

The scheme was introduced by Waltham Forest Council last September to encourage people to cycle by making certain zones bicycle only.

The signs, in Orford Road in Walthamstow, did not comply with Waltham Forest Council’s own traffic management order until they were amended last month.

The council also issued 14,894 penalty charge notices to drivers using Orford Road between May 2015 and July 2016.

The issue with the signs was brought to light after a taxi driver got fined for driving on the road and questioned if the signs were correct.

Heather Rawlinson, from North Chingford, drove through the road which allows only buses from 10am until 10pm.

 Heather, 56, said: “I feel so angry that the council have taken nearly £1million in fines and they knew that the signs were not compliant with the traffic management order.

“They made me feel stupid as a motorist that I didn’t know what I was doing.

“There were other cars going through the road when I got the ticket so are we all stupid?

“I will now be writing to them for a refund and wold encourage other drivers to do the same.”

The Mini-Holland scheme was introduced in Walthamstow last September to encourage people to cycle.

 But the signs on Orford Road prohibited cycles and vehicles from entering.

The signs, which featured a red circle with white in the middle, meant that only pedal cycles being pushed were allowed through between 10am and 10pm.

Because cycles are considered vehicles, they were not allowed through.

Laurence Younger, owner of Queens Arms pub in Orford Road, said because drivers do not understand the signs they do not slow down.

He said: “There’s a sign but drivers don’t understand it.

“It is a partly pedestrianised road and the pedestrians are looking out for buses but not for cars.

“Cars drive up at 20 and 30 miles per hour and it is dangerous.”

Deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, Cllr Clyde Loakes, said: “The signs used originally were the only ones we could use at the time under the Department for Transport’s Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 legislation.

 “This legislation did not allow us to use a combination of the ‘No Motor Vehicles’ sign with the car and motorcycle symbol with the supplementary plate underneath.

“The new Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 legislation, which came into force in April, does permit the use of the more recognised ‘No Motor Vehicles’ sign with a supplementary plate underneath, so we updated our signage as soon as possible to make it clearer for everyone.”

Patrick Khan, manager of Eat 17 on Orford Road, said a lack of parking on the Mini-Holland road means customers end up cancelling their reservations.

He said: “We have one or two people cancelling their bookings every week.

“Customers tell us the real issue is a lack of parking and they have a big issue with fines.

“We used to have parking in front of the restaurant but since last summer we don’t.

“Some more parking in a side road would help.”

The signs on Orford Road, which were amended on July 15 to include a picture of a motorbike and car, are compliant with the traffic management order.

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14679470.Council_blunder_left_cyclists_banned_from_Mini_Holland_road/?ref=mr&lp=2

[DastardlyDick]

What an unmitigated cock up!
At the very least the Council should refund all the PCNs issued while the non-compliant signs were in place.

[scalyback]

Ok, I know it's a little off topic, but to mention some of the madness of signs, our council have one of the most head scratching signs of all times. Badgers road (Kent) is a residential road, there is a cul-de-sac off that, and as you would expect, people treat it as any other residential road.

The council have put a very small sign at each end that reads 'Restricted byway' which means 'No mechanically propelled or motor vehicles allowed'. I believe the residents have an exception, but it seems madness not to make it a highway. Plus, the very small sign is not easily noticeable. Could this be another attempt to extort fines? (See photos).