Call for councillors to 'listen to local people' over road closure

EXETER councillors wrestling with the problem of a controversial road closure have been urged to listen to local people.

- by GUY HENDERSON Local Democracy Repo guy.henderson@reachplecom

Dryden Road protest signs

Campaigners trying to get Dryden Road opened again have urged them to “do something for the many, not the few”.

However, cyclists who want it to stay shut say the closure has made travel through the city safer and cleaner, and reopening the road without providing a safe alternative would be a “critical safety risk”.

The road has been blocked to cars since 2020, when it was designed to provide a safe and traffic-free route. But a protest campaign has been growing, with people saying it has merely moved the problem to surrounding streets, such as Bovemoors Lane.

Around 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for the road to be reopened, while 1,800 have signed one saying it should stay closed.