A BUNGLING council has blown taxpayer cash on a “random” traffic island that has blocked residents from turning into their drive.
The traffic calming eyesore was meant to slow down boy racers, but locals on Dixon Street, Wolverhampton, have branded it as a complete “monstrosity.”
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Wolverhampton Council paid for the island to improve safety, but locals have claimed that the bizarre creation is more likely to cause accidents.
Balvinder Sond, 46, claims he can no longer turn his transit van onto his driveway without clipping the edge of the island.
He instead has to drive down the road to perform a U-turn, and slammed it as an “absolute joke.”
Balivinder said: “I’ve got no problems with speed bumps but this is on a different level.
“It’s going to cause an accident, not stop one. I’ve complained to the council so many times but all they said is ‘send in an email’. Then they ignore it.
“It cannot work out what the point of it is.
“It’s a long road and this part of it is wide and with good visibility. There’s not been an accident here in the 10 years I’ve lived here.
“It’s down the road, where there is a bend, which is a danger zone. But not this part.”
His wife Nanjinder, 39, told how she had been abused by impatient motorists as she struggles to now park on her driveway.
She said: “Just last week a driver beeped his horn and swore at me. But it’s not my fault that I can’t park easily any more.
“It’s a hazard and an inconvenience.”
The road, which is meant to be one of the widest in the county, has already had sets of speedbumps have been installed.
But residents were furious when the three-metre island was installed last month with no warning.
Kamaljit Caur, 37, said: “They turned up last month and just started work.
‘MONSTROSITY’
“No-one around here could believe it when they finished. It’s a monstrosity.
“It’s horrible having to open your front door and look at it. The worst thing is there’s just no reason for it.
“There are lorries that can’t get past and I’m there’s going to be an accident where a car clips the kerb and crashes.
“It’s causing more issues than before.”
Wolverhampton Council welcomed the traffic calming measures which it said was “designed to reduce vehicle speeds and personal injury collisions”.
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A spokesman for the council said: “The varying width of the carriageway on Dixon Street means that the number of speed cushions also has to vary.
“It is however, not always possible to fit a full set of cushions across the road.
“Under such circumstances we are able to introduce a central splitter island of appropriate width to ensure the traffic calming remains within specification.
“The splitter island includes ‘Keep Left’ signs which are mandatory to inform drivers that they must pass to the left side of the island. Contravention of the ‘Keep Left’ signs is a criminal offence.
“We appreciate that the splitter island will prevent a small number of residents from parking on-street directly outside their properties.
“However, there is extensive, unrestricted on-street parking in the vicinity on Dixon Street.
“City of Wolverhampton Council’s Traffic and Road Safety will monitor the effectiveness of the scheme over the coming months.”
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