Never mind the bollards ... safety measures drive residents to distraction
THEY may look like something out of a nightmarish horror film, but these bollards have caused quite the controversy after residents branded them creepy and dangerous.
The mannequin-style figures are the latest idea by Iver district council, Bucks, to improve road safety outside local schools. But no sooner were they put up than residents called for the “eyesore” figures to be removed, claiming they were “potentially hazardous”.
Now, the councillor responsible for their implementation has hit back, claiming she can’t help thinking parents are only annoyed because the bollards stop them mounting the kerb when dropping off children.
The bollards, known as Bill and Belinda, were installed near the Iver infants and junior schools as a deterrent to speeding drivers.
More than half a dozen of the youngster lookalikes were put up at a cost of £5,395 in an effort to fool drivers into thinking a child is crossing the road, but reviews have been mixed on the eerie figures.
Alison Major, a resident, said: “They look awful, they should have been a normal traffic bollard. They will be knocked over in no time or defaced with graffiti. When people know that it’s just a bollard they will just continue as normal as they get used to them, so when a child does step out the potential for them to get hit is still there.”
Connor Mcginn added: “If I was a driver they would scare me into crashing, super creepy.”
Some residents saw the funny side, providing the bollards with sunglasses and waterproofs, or posting pictures of themselves applying sunscreen. The scheme was spearheaded by Luisa Sullivan, a Buckinghamshire county councillor. She said: “I think we really need to experiment with our options. We also have a number of parents who mount the kerb at the school, and these bollards can act as a deterrent to this, maybe that is causing annoyance.”