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<\/p>\nFURIOUS locals say they feel trapped in their homes and pitted against their neighbours after council chiefs blocked roads to prevent accidents – despite there not being a crash there in five years.<\/p>\n
Residents living in a 'low traffic neighbourhood ' in Exeter, Devon say the scheme is also putting lives at risk by forcing emergency services to take longer routes and even forcing ambulance crews to race to emergencies on foot.<\/p>\n
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In one case firefighters are said to have used hydraulic cutting tools to remove a bollard blocking their route so they could reach an emergency.<\/p>\n
The 18-month trial\u00a0by Devon County Council\u00a0has created uproar in the normally genteel Devon city, with traffic barriers and no entry signs vandalised with spray paint.<\/p>\n
A wooden planter placed in the road has been daubed with \u201c1984\u201d – a reference to George Orwell\u2019s famous novel about a totalitarian government oppressing its citizens.<\/p>\n
Wheelchair user Teegan Creed, 61, who suffers from severe lung problems and anxiety, said the restrictions have had a disastrous effect on her health including making her journey to hospital three times as long.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThis has been really bad for both my physical and mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s raining I can\u2019t leave the house, I can\u2019t afford to drive because of the extra fuel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am literally trapped in the house, I\u2019m scared to leave in case I\u2019m inhaling more fumes, we can\u2019t go out for pleasure any more – we used to take the grandchildren to the park but we can\u2019t get there any more because it\u2019s just too far to travel in the car.<\/p>\n \u201cThe segregation is pitting communities against each other. You have the wall which separates Whipton from Heavitree, you have two completely different areas and Heavitree has access to hospitals, charity shops, everything, whereas Whipton has access to none of it.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve chatted to people online who feel suicidal because they are trapped by this scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n Mrs Creed says the low traffic neighbourhood has also affected emergency services. She added: \u201cEven though ambulances have equipment to unlock it there\u2019s not always time. <\/p>\n "We\u2019ve heard of an incident where they had to leave the ambulance at the barrier and run through with life saving equipment. They managed to get there in time but the patient later died in hospital, for all we know they might have survived if they had got there sooner.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m absolutely petrified that if I have a serious flare up at home, is somebody going to get to me on time? They are shortening my life span because they may not be able to get me to hospital on time.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve chatted to people online who feel suicidal because they are trapped by this scheme<\/p>\n Husband Jason Creed, 51, who works as his wife\u2019s carer, said: \u201cI have walked around this road at 8.30pm and you feel very vulnerable because there\u2019s nobody around and it feels like a ghost town.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve heard stories of the fire service not being able to get their unlocking equipment out in time so have got the machine out and cut through the bollard to get there in time.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if they get there on time it\u2019s still putting lives at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n The bollards and closures are not enforced by CCTV but Devon County Council is asking residents to send them footage of people breaking the rules.<\/p>\n After the scheme launched protesters repeatedly removed the bollards, costing the council \u00a3215 each.\u00a0<\/p>\n By one of the vandalised bus gates, local resident Ian Frankum, 60, a retired Royal Mail manager, said residents felt frustrated and hadn\u2019t been listened to. <\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s been catastrophic for the local communities. It\u2019s divided the area with three blockages which has meant huge detours for people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to go onto the arterial roads which have got much busier and more polluted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the consultation one of the claims made is it will reduce accidents but we did a freedom of information request which found that on the blocked roads there hasn\u2019t been an accident in five years. <\/p>\n "While I understand it will reduce risk, the number of accidents won\u2019t reduce because there weren\u2019t any in the first place.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t condone any breaking of the law but the frustration has come about because people don\u2019t feel listened to. <\/p>\n "Some people clearly get frustrated and take things into their own hands, which is something I don\u2019t necessarily agree with, but we need to use everything within our powers within the community to hope the council listen to us and change their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n Support worker Liz Spry, 68, added: \u201cThe other day I wanted to go to the doctors, I caught the bus but I had to wait an hour to get there and again in the afternoon I went into town and had to wait an hour. <\/p>\n "It\u2019s no use cycling or saying 'take the bus' when the service isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a business up the road with a sign on his window appealing for trade because since the restrictions he isn\u2019t getting any.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t feel listened to by the council – they have made up their minds and they don\u2019t want to listen. They are making matters worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Her husband David, 70, said: \u201cBefore the scheme started it was reasonably busy, but traffic was moving very freely with no problems or highly polluted areas.<\/p>\n "Now it\u2019s probably a 20 or 30 minute delay going into town because of these diversions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel we are being dictated to by the council to do what they want, not what\u2019s best for the local environment or residents.\u201d<\/p>\n We feel we are being dictated to by the council to do what they want, not what\u2019s best for the local environment or residents<\/p>\n Businesses say have also been made to suffer since the scheme was introduced. <\/p>\n Newsagent Peter Morgan said: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a big drop in trade. I can\u2019t put a percentage on it but you can see by the figures at the end of the week that there\u2019s definitely less takings in the till because of the lack of transport coming past and footfalls.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big concern and it\u2019s not just us that\u2019s suffering, it\u2019s other businesses in the area too who have seen exactly the same thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost every customer who comes in the shop disagrees with it, even cyclists and pedestrians.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is affecting the elderly in particular who used to come in for a chat, but the interaction isn't there for them now. What some of them do is ring up the shop to chat.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the 17 years I have been here we still have the same customers coming, but they are finding it more and more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Protesters gathered in Exeter city centre last week to blast the scheme. <\/p>\n Supporters argue the scheme makes it safer for people to walk and cycle by cutting down on road traffic.<\/p>\n Following an outcry from locals, Devon County Council last week announced it would ease rules to allow taxis and minicabs through the restrictions.<\/p>\n Clive Hutchings, 52, who works in agricultural logistics, said: \u201cIt\u2019s created an absolute nightmare to get anywhere. <\/p>\n "For my mum to get to her dentist she has to drive all the way round, she can\u2019t walk or cycle, my brother is partially sighted and can\u2019t walk or cycle, so for them it\u2019s just creating a nightmare situation.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople feel trapped because it has restricted your movement. It\u2019s going to kill the town because people just aren\u2019t going to go into the town.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dividing communities, I had a letter from the police because I came through here on my motorbike one day and somebody reported it to the police. <\/p>\n People feel trapped because it has restricted your movement. It\u2019s going to kill the town because people just aren\u2019t going to go into the town. It\u2019s dividing communities<\/p>\n "They are pitting people against each other that don\u2019t need to be. Neighbours who agree with it are arguing with those who don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n One resident named Rachel, who refused to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said people who supported the scheme had been subjected to abuse from people opposed to it, including having poo posted through their letterboxes.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cIt\u2019s an 18 month trial and we need to give it a go. It is affecting some of the journeys I make, but if you accept climate change is real and you accept Exeter has a problem with traffic, then somebody has to do something about it.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes an intervention is necessary to make people think about it. <\/p>\n "If some of the people who can change their habits do, then life is going to be easier for the people who can\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to be able to drink and drive, we used to be able to drive without a seatbelt and smoke in pubs, that\u2019s how the world is.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you accept climate change is real then there is an inevitability about these schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n A Devon County Council spokesperson said: \u201cConsultation is ongoing on our Active Streets pilot scheme which intends to reduce traffic volumes on residential streets in Heavitree and Whipton, making it safer for people to walk and cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to initial feedback about the impacts of the trial on taxi and private hire vehicles we've listened and we\u2019re modifying the scheme so that from Thursday 9 November, Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles will be able to use the \u2018bus gates\u2019 as many of these journeys provide transport for people with disabilities who are unable to walk, cycle or use a car, or for home to school transport.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/KH_23_10_ROCK_V2_COMP-1.jpg\")
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