Residents took down £1,000,000 bus lane after just three months – how did they do it?

A group of residents which claim they were ‘a pawn in Sadiq Khan’s anti-car game’ successfully took down a £1 million London bus lane after just three months.

The lane, which was introduced on Regent’s Park Road in Finchley, north London, back in August, forced motorists to drive head-on into oncoming traffic to take over

It was hoped the bus lane would speed up journeys by giving the vehicles their own dedicated spaces on the road.

But residents claimed two minor accidents had already occurred, and a major one was ‘waiting to happen’.

Jonathan Barr, who has lived and worked in the area for 40 years, told Metro: ‘They didn’t care about us. The Mayor of London wants to expand the bus routes to 25km but they don’t care about where they go.’

Barnet Council were given £1 million to install the lane, which has now been branded a ‘colossal waste of money’.

The council said they had only spent one-third of this money as only phase one of the bus lane had been completed.

But it is unclear how the remaining two-thirds were going to be spent – and how it will be spent now.

‘There was hardly any consultation’

Residents claim the council’s initial consultation before installing the lane was ‘very limited’, and only contacted 500 homes.

The bus lane was expanded as part of the Mayor of London’s 25×25 bus priority programme, which is working to create 25km of new bus lanes by December.

Jonathan said: ‘What really upset people was the way it was all rushed in without telling us properly. I certainly wasn’t told about the plans until after it was all signed off.’

The new lane left motorists having to drive on the wrong side of the road to make room for the buses.

Parking and deliveries also became ‘impossible’ due to the width of the new markings.

Jonathan said: ‘You couldn’t even open your car door without nearly hitting oncoming traffic.’

‘We launched a very polite protest’

Residents banded together to get rid of the lane, and did so incredibly quickly throughout the bureaucratic red tape.

Simon Brockwood, who helped lead the campaign, told Metro: ‘They were trying to railroad something that was so obviously anti-car, and not just pro-bus.

‘There were no provisions for parking or deliveries. It made a lot of people angry.’

So a group of around 500 residents launched a campaign to remove the lane.

Around 1,700 people signed a petition to have it removed, while others repeatedly rang the council, Transport for London, and appealed to councillors and their MP for help.

The original road line markings are now set to be reinstalled next week.

Barnet Council has also confirmed the scheme will not be going ahead.

MP Sarah Sackman said: ‘Road safety is vital and must not be compromised.

‘That is why when residents got in touch about their concerns I wrote to the Council and spoke with the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport.

‘They listened, they showed up and now they have acted. It is a testament to residents and the Council that they could work together to come to the best decision – putting safety first.’

Barnet Council said: ‘Although £1 million was allocated to this scheme by TfL, only the first phase had been implemented and so only around a third of that has been spent.

‘We will be working with TfL and the community to ensure that funds allocated to Barnet are invested in improving the experience of bus travellers and other road users.’

Transport for London said: ‘Bus lanes play a vital role in enabling Londoners to travel using one of the capital’s most affordable and accessible forms of transport.

‘They help improve bus journey times and reliability and provide benefits for others, including people using taxis and people cycling.

‘We are in discussions with Barnet Council, the highway authority, about the lane on Regent’s Park Road and will provide an update in due course.’

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