Electronic bollards plan for Wolverhampton city centre

Chiefs at Wolverhampton Council are considering the proposals over concerns of shoppers being put at risk in the city centre.

They said some delivery vans and lorries have been ignoring the rules which cover the pedestrianised zone in the city.

The zone – which includes Dudley Street and other main routes – prevents vans and lorries passing at certain times.

Trial changes were made to the times in June amid the pandemic – with bosses now proposing a series of permanent measures.

Councillor Steve Evans, Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city environment, said: “What we’ve seen over the years is that a lot of delivery drivers simply ignore the restrictions and drive into the pedestrianised zone at any time of day and this is obviously not safe and is an accident waiting to happen.

“We made some trial changes over the summer in response to the Covid pandemic to change the times which vehicles could enter the zone.

Refinements

“We’ve looked at it again, made some further refinements and are now proposing to introduce this permanent scheme.”

The zone covers Dudley Street, King Street, Queen Street between its junction with Dudley Street/Market Street.

Other roads affected include Princess Street between its junction with Queen Street/King Street, alongside Bilston Street between its junction with Dudley Street/Garrick Street.

Proposals include the installation of electronic rise and fall bollards to be utilised to prevent unauthorised entry outside the permitted times.

The council has launched a six-week consultation via its website – which closes on January 4.

To view the proposals, visit wolverhampton.gov.uk/troperm