City centre bollards to crackdown on drivers in pedestrian zones

Work will start next month to install bollards in three parts of the city centre – to make the areas more pedestrian friendly and encourage shoppers to return when the lockdown ends.

They will be put on Piccadilly, Brunswick Street and Cheapside to stop vehicles driving through pedestrian zones, and to support efforts by traders to create more of a street café culture.

There will be three automated sliding bollards on Piccadilly, one at its junction with Marsh Street South and two either side of the junction with Pall Mall. The bollards will allow access for deliveries to businesses between 5am and 10am and 5pm and 9pm. Fixed bollards – that can only be lowered for an emergency or planned event – will also be installed where the pedestrian zones begin on Brunswick Street and Cheapside.

Cllr Daniel Jellyman, cabinet member for infrastructure, regeneration and heritage, said: “These streets have been clearly marked as pedestrian zones for a number of years but unfortunately we are still getting vehicles travelling down them when they shouldn’t be. Some of the businesses have quite a busy street scene at night, particularly in the summer, so there’s clearly cause for concern from a pedestrian safety point of view.

“People might remember we put up temporary barriers in these areas to ban vehicles in the summer, to help businesses recover from the lockdown after the Government encouraged traders to put tables and chairs outside. That move was welcomed by many of the businesses and it created a real café culture vibe and also made people feel safer which was brilliant to see. We’re now moving to a permanent solution with these bollards which will allow businesses to have seating outside, which is something a lot of their customers want, and also expand their seating cover. Having these bollards in place also opens the door to street festivals and events in the future which would be really positive for the city centre.

“We’re working closely with Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Business Improvement District to create a city centre that is welcoming and attractive for shoppers, visitors and businesses and this is part of that work. It is an area which has seen a lot of investment in recent years with exciting developments like the Hilton Garden Inn hotel, Clayworks and a new multi-storey car park on the way shortly. We’re all working together to make the city centre a success and to support the businesses as much as we possibly can so we all bounce back strongly from the pandemic together.”

Contractor Galliford Try, who will be carrying out the work on behalf of the council, will be setting up on site from Monday, March 29. The work is expected to take up to 12 weeks to complete and access to properties will be maintained at all times. Some of the existing public realm will need to be removed as part of the bollard installation but will be replaced.

Jonathan Bellamy, chair of Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Business Improvement District, said: “For more than ten years, Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID have advocated for the benefits of protecting our pedestrianised streets. So now, along with businesses located along Piccadilly, we are thrilled that the new bollard scheme has come to fruition.

"The new bollards afford visitors and patrons of the businesses located along the street additional safety as the area becomes pedestrianised to implement the city centre's traffic regulation order during key times. 

"It is really important to maximise the potential of having a pedestrianised area - something we really saw in evidence last summer following lockdown restrictions being lifted, when all of the food and beverage venues were able to cater for their customers outdoors, producing a buzzing atmosphere, in a protected environment.

"The new bollard scheme also means that future events that the BID hosts along Piccadilly - including Friday Night Socials, music events, artisan markets, Piccadilly Spooktacular Halloween events, to name just a few - will be held in a safer and more engaging environment to further the enjoyment and positive experience had by visitors, making our city centre an attractive place to visit."