Motorists ignore £3m high street car ban

A £3 million scheme to ban cars from a high street turned into a farce on its first day after motorists took no notice of it.

Labour council chiefs spent four years coming up with plans to reduce rush hour traffic on an inner-city road and improve air quality in Southampton.

Under the controversial scheme, drivers are restricted from part of the busy Portswood Road from 7am to 10am and from 4pm to 7pm.

But the restrictions were flouted within seconds of coming into force on Monday. Motorists ignored the signs and continued to use the road. In just 15 seconds, some 12 vehicles were spotted driving through the restricted area.

Southampton city council rolled out the scheme – dubbed the “Portswood Project” – on Monday as a six-month trial.

Only buses, taxis, and cyclists are allowed on the restricted part.

‘A silly idea’

John Nightingale, a 78-year-old resident, described the scheme as a “silly idea” as he walked to the high street to watch the start of the trial.

He said: “I have lived in the area for 34 years and this is a silly idea.

“To be honest, people are simply going to find routes to avoid this area, and it will slow down the buses using the bus gate on their other routes, which defeats the object.

“People are taking no notice whatsoever of the closure. There is not enough information on the roads about this.”

The council launched a survey in late 2020 on the scheme to gather people’s opinions. Out of the 195 respondents, only three were in favour of the bus priority option. But the plans continued, prompting a petition against the proposals that garnered 2,868 signatures.

‘Make congestion worse’

For Cllr Jeremy Moulton, the trial is simply a “softening up exercise” for the road to be closed to cars eventually.

He dubbed drivers flouting the rules as “inevitable”.

Mr Moulton said: “People will not be aware of the closure and will drive through as normal.

“My take on it is if it is causing congestion on side roads when not everyone is aware of it, when everyone does know and it is in force, that will make congestion worse.

“The council has already made up its mind and I disagree with it completely.”

Tyler Jones, the owner of Flagship Coffee on the high street, was among those watching the cars breezing through the closure.

The 24-year-old said: “I do not think the trial closure has been greatly marked or signposted.

“I do not understand why they did not do the trial in the spring or summer. It would encourage people to the area.

“But I do not think the closure will drive people away.”

One Southampton resident, posting online, said: “Every day another story of total incompetence and waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Another resident said: “If they don’t penalise all these drivers, it’s unfair on the law-abiding motorists who go the long way around, they need to be fined, unless we are running two-tier traffic schemes?”

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