Taxi bollard in wrong place

Taxi bollard in wrong place
A bollard to stop taxi drivers flouting a traffic ban in Stourbridge High Street has been put in the wrong place, allowing cars to squeeze through, it is claimed.

Now the township council says another bollard is needed.

Taxi drivers have been ignoring the ban by squeezing their cars through a space on the pavement between a post box and the former Yorkshire Bank building to access High Street.

Only Hackney carriages are allowed to pick up from High Street between 11am and 4pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Residents reported the problem to police and Dudley Council and an extra bollard was put in place to deal with the problem.

But the bollard was put along the roadside rather than in the middle of the pavement as requested – leaving a gap still big enough for cars to get through.

Vice-chairman of Stourbridge township council, John Shepherd said it was good action had been taken so quickly but the bollard was in the wrong place.

“I think whoever put this in place did not fully understand the nature of the problem,” he said. “The bollard needs to go in the middle of the pavement. This is where the actual gap is which the drivers are using to squeeze their cars through.

“All it would take is for an extra bollard to be put in the dead centre of this gap and the problem is solved.”

Mr Shepherd said he knew there were concerns about placing obstacles on a pavement used by people with impared sight or wheelchairs. “However I do not think this would be a problem as it is quite a wide space.”