Bollards Installed to Prevent Illegal Parking in Green Lane

Published on: 1 Sep, 2012
Updated on: 1 Sep, 2012

Wooden Bollards have been installed all along Green Lane from the bridleway signs to Henley Fort

Bollards have been installed along Green Lane to prevent illegal parking on the bridle way. Workers who were yesterday completing the job say reaction from visitors and residents has been mixed.

The new wooden bollards line the entire length of the lane from the bridleway signs, where The Mount becomes Green Lane, and the gate by the entrance to Henley Fort. Gaps have only been left for existing driveways. Funding is believed to have come, at least partly, from Surrey County Council.

The new bollards run for the entire length of the lane to Henley Fort. Lay bys previously used for parking have been blocked off but passing places have been left

Lay-bys that have been used in the past by visiting walkers have been blocked off by the bollards. Passing places have been left but these should not be used for parking. Parking in the lane, officially a bridleway, has always been illegal but its bridleway status only became well known following planning applications for housing developments along the lane.

Vociferous objections were made when the bridleway restrictions were publicised. Some who had parked in the lane for years, to take walks or exercise dogs, felt them unfair and unnecessary.

This car had already been parked illegally in the space left for turning by the gate that bars through traffic by the entrance to Henley Fort

But some residents and other users said that it was important to retain the rural character of the lane and dissuade anti social behaviour. There has been evidence that some were parking in the lane to take drugs or have sex.

A contracted workman who was applying preservative to the top of the posts said: “Some people don’t like them and have told us so but they only have to park down by the cemetery.”

One local resident who regularly walks along the lane wrote, “Very good news!  …the bollards are now in front of both new houses, close to the tarmac roadway, with access confined strictly to their drives.  The bollards have also been placed now on the former “parking places” so as to make them just passing places.  A very thorough job.”

Working completing the project by applying preservative to the sawn tops of the new bollards

Another said, “Thanks should be given to Adam Owen, the borough’s arboriculturist and especially to Cllr David Goodwin who have worked hard to preserve the area of The Mount.  Adam’s work is beginning to bear fruit, turning the previously tired woodland into a show piece. Consideration by the public to respect the nesting habits of Sky larks has seen a noticeable increase in this song bird this year.”

What do you think of the new bollards? Are they a good thing to prevent illegal parking or an unnecessary nuisance preventing people from using the lane as an amenity? Please have your say by using the Leave a Reply feature below.

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