New traffic island leaves road too narrow for buses

Buses have been withdrawn from the middle of a village in Leicestershire after a new pedestrian island left a road too narrow for them to get through.

The island was installed in Rearsby Road, in Queniborough, as part of work to upgrade the junction which was completed on Saturday.

However, Arriva Midlands said the new road layout had not left enough space for its buses to get past safely without mounting the pavement.

Leicestershire County Council highways officials said the work had been carried out by contractors for developer David Wilson Homes but the design had "not proved correct".

James Poland, county councillor for the village, has described the situation as "a shambles".

David Wilson Homes told the BBC it would meet council bosses on Wednesday to discuss a solution and implement changes to the junction as soon as possible.

Poland said he had warned highways officials at Leicestershire County Council the new island would leave Rearsby Road unusable for large buses but had not been listened to.

"I am really angry about what has happened here," Poland said.

"Myself and others repeatedly warned that the new layout looked too tight for buses, and I specifically asked highways to make absolutely certain a full-size bus could safely make the turn.

"I was assured it would. We now know that was wrong.

"It is simply not acceptable that these warnings were not properly investigated.

"Residents have endured nearly three months of disruption, only for the junction to reopen and buses to be unable to safely use it."

Arriva said it had removed its 5 and 5A services from that part of the route while it worked with highways bosses from Leicestershire County Council to find a solution.

A spokesperson for the operator said: "Safety is our first priority. After the junction in Queniborough reopened, we carried out a risk assessment and found our buses can't get through the new layout without mounting the pavement.

"That isn't something we can ask our drivers to do and it puts pedestrians and other road users at risk.

"We're sorry that, as a result, services 5 and 5A are not currently serving Queniborough village. Customers can use the nearest stop on Melton Road, which is 500 metres away.

"We're in dialogue with Leicestershire County Council Highways and we're keen to work with them to find a solution that lets buses serve the village safely and reliably."

"I have demanded that resolving this is treated as a top priority," Poland added.

"If the pedestrian island has to go to get buses back into Queniborough, then it has to go.

"I am determined to do everything I can to get the service restored as quickly as possible.

"If they do have to take the junction out, that's going to mean more disruption in the middle of the village and that is not good enough."

The BBC visited the junction on Monday and saw a school bus mounting the kerb to pass the island.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The central crossing island is part of a wider scheme of work to enhance junction capacity following a recent David Wilson Homes development.

"This work was led by the developer and we are urgently working with them on a solution to the work carried out at the junction.

"As part of the technical approval process, the developer's designer was required to submit detailed information to us to show that the design would be suitable for all types of vehicles expected to use the junction.

"Unfortunately, in this case, this has not proved correct following construction and as such we are working urgently with the developer to seek a resolution at the earliest opportunity."

A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes said: "The designs of the junction in Queniborough were approved by the highway authority and, during construction, the traffic island that is restricting turning was reduced in length on the instruction of the [county council] highway inspector.

"A meeting has been arranged with our engineers and the highways design engineers on 7 October to resolve the issue and we will implement any changes identified as quickly as possible so that the bus service can operate as normal."

The county council said it would run a free taxi service from the Rearsby Road, near the crossroads, to take people to the nearest bus stop 500 metres (1,640ft) away in Melton Road.

Additional reporting by Sam French

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