Filtered out

Campaigners claim controversial ‘road blocks' were removed despite data showing they worked

- ETHAN DAVIES

CAMPAIGNERS claim controversial ‘road blocks’ were pulled based on anecdotal evidence – as data shows it met its goals.

The Safer Streets Scheme saw nine junctions on the Hartley estate in Withington fitted with plant filters to prevent motor traffic movements. The six-month trial started last August, but was brought to an end by council bosses in March, although two of the filters will stay.

It divided opinion, with a petition launched protesting their installation almost as soon as it was completed. However, pro-walking and cycling groups welcomed the move, saying it made the area quieter.

Now, that group – Love Withington Streets – has seen a copy of the Manchester council report into the trial and claims the decision to pull the planters has been made based on anecdotal comments, rather than hard data. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has also seen the council’s report, which found that traffic reduced at seven of eight monitoring stations, including ‘substantial reductions... in the northwestern part’ of the trial. The data also shows a 15 percent drop in average speeds across the trial zone.