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Bollards ready to rise in city centre
Remote control bollards which will ban cars from a city centre street should be up and running from next month.
The rising bollards will be introduced to stop vehicles ignoring a daytime pedestrian zone in Cheapside, near Preston Flag Market.
The CCTV-monitored devices have been installed at the junction of Fishergate and are set to come into use at the end of October.
Drivers who need access, such as service vehicles and some blue badge holders, will be given a pass to control the bollards.
City council leader Ken Hudson said: "Everything is there and in place, we're just waiting on the swipe card reader."
A traffic study found that up to 85% of vehicles entering Preston's "civic core" area were unauthorised and most of the traffic using Cheapside was cutting through.
The existing restrictions on vehicles entering Cheapside could also be extended to include Sundays, to recognise that it is now one of the busiest shopping days in the city centre.
Members of Preston's Lancashire Local committee will give their views on the timing of the scheme at their meeting next Thursday.
The bollards are part of the planned city centre 20mph Clear Zone project, which also includes a traffic-calming scheme on Church Street, from Church Row to Cheapside, a one-way system along Cross Street and road humps in Avenham Lane and Winckley Square.
Rachel Crompton, Lancashire County Council's assistant area highways manager, said: "An experimental traffic regulation order has been approved to amend the access controls at Cheapside using rising bollards.
"The bollards have been installed but are not yet operational. Lancashire Local Preston will be invited to consider how and when they should be brought into operation."
Rising bollards caused controversy in Manchester when a number of cars grounded on the 3ft-high posts. Those bollards use sensors to allow buses through, before quickly rising to block other traffic.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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