To think that you can’t just close a road like this!

[RoadClosed]

Came home from work a few weeks ago (2:30pm) and our road had “road closed” signs on it. Highly unusual as it’s a quiet one way street with a couple of cul-de-sacs leading off it. I parked up and walked the rest of the way home (only 2 minutes, it’s not a long road). When DH came home he said the road wasn’t closed - no signs of it ever being closed.

A few days later same thing, 2:30pm - road closed. No signs of work going on, so I moved the sign and drove to my house. A neighbour text me same day asking why the road is closed as there is no work going on. I said I had no idea so he rang council to ask - they had no idea either and said nobody had applied to close the road either. Therefore we all just moved these signs off the road whenever we saw them and drove past.

Long story short - a woman down the street then went knocking on doors asking people not to move the signs as they were put there during the day to make the street safe for kids to play on!! By kids she means her son. It was explained to her that she can’t just close the road for this reason! Her reasoning is that it’s a short street and it’s only a short walk from the signs to any of the houses on the street. She was told that this isn’t the point, people have a right to be able to drive to their driveways! She’s continuing to put the signs up between 10am and 3pm. AWBU to continue ignoring them??

I understand her concern. She should talk to the neighbours and council about an agreed closure time on weekend days.

It sounds to me like social services should talk to her and teach her about how very young children need to be supervised at all times.

Why would you randomly close roads, just so that kids can play on them rather than in parks or gardens?! It makes as much sense as it would to regularly close the local park specifically so that people can move their cars from the roads and park and drive there instead!

Highways Act 1980

Penalty for wilful obstruction. If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine or both.

Housethatbuiltme, so 17 children killed is acceptable?

Those signs would be finding a new home down at the council tip.

So should we stop feeding children given that 276 of them choked to death?

8 children killed by dogs... is that acceptable?

Quick cull ALL dogs.

Get rid of all water and stop feeding children too while we are at it.

I would argue that it obviously a lack of parental supervision around children and roads is the issue here, its bad parenting not cars. ANYTHING is dangerous to a child without supervision.

Who's talking about banning cars? Fewer cars and more pedestrian friendly streets - yes

And parents who supervise young children playing on the footpath not the road! One of our neighbours nearly ran over a 2 year old being (un)supervised by his 5 year old sister. He was in a black electric Mercedes benz toy car in the dark! No adults outside with them at all.

It doesn't matter what it's called or how you frame it. People pay high taxes to be able to run their cars; this huge amount of tax revenue - whatever it gets spent on - would not be received if it were not in return for people being able to use cars.

but it costs around £31bn - £33bn each year for car crashes, which is around £5/6 bn more than drivers pay in taxes - so it gets spent and subsidised by other taxes to cover car crashes, so people can drive. On top of that motorways and highways have to be funded, so again other taxes will subsidies that. Council tax covers local roads but not national rds. Should people be paying higher taxes to run there cars so that other taxes aren't being used to subsidise them? The true cost of driving would possibly reduce car use. If public buses were subsidised to the tune of £5/6bn it'd be fabulous service - possibly even free

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23861858.ai-shows-newport-streets-look-without-cars/

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper some people prefer cars to not dominate the street they live. In other places they are taking away car dominance, cars are still around but don't dominate. Each to their own, you may prefer rows of cars but many people prefer alternatives. Often though we have become blind to the 4 lanes of cars on many roads, two not moving and two moving.

We have a massive pathway like that out the front of our house... its utterly useless and wasted space.

There has not been an increase in pedestrians or children playing, there has however been an increase in work vans, councils vans, delivery vans and the odd twat parking illegally on it causing a danger (as drivers on the actual road cant see past them as the road is slightly curved) because its now a big unused spot.

It hasn't 'reduced' or 'improved' anything.

It hasn't 'reduced' or 'improved' anything.

thats your opinion, but others have different opinions

You write this like cars haven't been a completely normal part of life for decades

You write this like cars haven't been a completely normal part of life for decades

smoking was a normal part of life for decades, now we have less than 12% of the population smoking whereas 49% smoked in the 1970s

Just because something has become normal, doesn't mean it has to stay that way, things can change

Buses and trains would have to be subsidised by far more than £5/6bn to make them feasible for the majority of car journeys. £5/6bn is a drop in the ocean. Some places don't even have a bus service, let alone one that's regular and actually runs all hours. My son's "last" train home from a Northern city is 7-15pm - there's nothing later and no bus from his city to our town either, even though it's less than 100 miles. It would cost tens of billions, maybe hundreds of billions to improve public transport to the kind of standard enjoyed by London and a handful of other big cities.

can you show me your evidence for this?

What others I live here, its literally right in front of my window and I see it all day.

NO ONE is using the pedestrianization except these vans to park on, everyone still uses the perfectly functioning, quicker, safer and easier cycle track that has always cut behind the houses.

Its made the road MORE dangerous.

Ha, good point.

Tell her that this is not allowed, and if she keeps doing it you will have to call the council. If she carries on, make that call.

I had a 'friend' like this. From Sweden. Oh everything was SO much better and more superior in Sweden than England.

You know love, you are in England and that's not how we do things.

Ok a Ukrainian family can't exactly go to Ukraine right now, but she needs to reset her expectations on what is socially acceptable.

Maybe it will be the council resetting those expectations eh

We have had two minor road accidents where I live recently, both involving children who were quite young and both were unsupervised on their bikes. Both children were from Ukraine so it does seem to be cultural to be out alone at younger ages than we are used to.

Take the sign with you when you move it next and hide it

Jog on! Maybe she should get off her arse and take her kid to the park

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this has given me a great laugh. Batshit behaviour. Steal the signs

Crazy dangerous as you wouldn’t trust someone not to realise it isn’t closed and drive down it and kill her son as he farts out from behind a parked car in an electric car.