A fresh furore has erupted over a stretch of road where the town hall has twice ripped up a dangerous width restriction and agreed to refund hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines.
A fresh furore has erupted over a stretch of road where the town hall has twice ripped up a dangerous width restriction and agreed to refund hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines.
The latest potential gaffe centres on white lines Islington Council has painted in Drayton Park, Highbury, which appear to ban right turns in and out of adjoining Whistler Street – much to the anger of those who live there.
The town hall says no one will face a ticket for turning right, but the opposition Liberal Democrats insist the council has got the markings wrong – using solid lines rather than dotted ones – and that this is another shambles on this stretch of road.
Cllr Julie Horten, Lib Dem member for Highbury East, said: “The problems at Drayton Park have become a local farce over the past two years and show just how incompetent this Labour council is.
“Yet again, the council has goofed and made life impossible for residents in Whistler Street. It is totally unfair that council incompetence is criminalising residents of Whistler Street who only want to drive into their road.”
Simon Jary, who lives in Whistler Street, said: “It’s confusing, and delivery drivers may well turn back.
“It would help if the council employed someone who knows what they’re doing before building expensive traffic-calming traps or simply painting basic road markings.”
A width restriction was installed in Drayton Park last year to stop lorries using the road as a rat run, but at least three cars flipped over and locals reported accidents every other day.
Despite being pulled up and rebuilt, it was removed permanently in the summer. The total cost was almost £130,000.
The Gazette found that the council had raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines – which they have since agreed to refund.
Cllr Andy Hull, Islington ’s executive member for finance and performance, said: “No one has been given a ticket for turning right at this junction, which has been in place since June, because it isn’t an offence to do so.
“I promised I would review this junction earlier this month and I am in the process of doing so.”
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