'Reckless' Rival parties blast plan to not repaint white lines on roads

CENTRE white lines on some roads in Bristol will not be repainted as part of a new safety push which has been branded “reckless in the extreme” by a city MP.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

Some roads in residential areas in Bristol won't have the white centre lines repainted

(Pic: Thomas Lav)

Research suggests that a lack of centre lines makes drivers go slower and give more space to cyclists when overtaking.

When contractors resurface 20mph roads, some of these will not have their white lines replaced. Safety experts at Bristol City Council believe the lack of white lines will make the roads less dangerous, as drivers have to pay more attention to their positioning and oncoming vehicles.

The changes were approved by councillors on the transport policy committee. However, Labour and Tory opposition councillors said the policy seemed to them counter-intuitive, and raised fears that self-driving cars might need centre lines in the future.

Labour's Cllr Kaz Self said: “I’m concerned about the lack of robust research on this and I’m reluctant for Bristol to be a kind of guinea pig. I’m also concerned about learner drivers and elderly drivers who might need centre lines, and it may well be that autonomous vehicles need centre lines as well.”

Conservative Cllr Jonathan Hucker added: “From a road safety perspective, it does feel counter-intuitive. Speaking as a driver with 43 years experience, I know that I feel safer when I’m on a road that has white lines down the middle. So I'm struggling to support this.”