Residents condemned traffic calming measures Mylor Bridge

One resident of Mylor Bridge said the people who designed and passed this should be given the Olympic gold medal for incompetence.

The road through the centre of Mylor Bridge re-opened on June 26 having been closed to traffic since June 10 to allow improvement works to the section of road between the bridge itself and Trevellan Road.

The new traffic calming includes a wide pavement with a dropped kerb from the Trevellan Road junction, to join the existing pavement nearer the bridge and for traffic calming measures to facilitate this.

Additionally, build outs were constructed to narrow the width of the road, which are supposed to act to slow down vehicles in the area.

Priority is supposed to be given to vehicles coming out of the village rather than those entering it at the bridge, but residents say this is not happening.

Drivers who are supposed to give way at the bridge end say they can't see traffic coming the other way. (Image: Packet Staff)

They say cars coming from the bridge side are coming too early, meeting vehicles coming out of the village forcing them to mount the pavement.

Posting a picture of one vehicle doing just that, one resident said: “Scarily this isn’t the only time cars are mounting the lowered pavement in this case the driver continued to drive mostly on the pavement.”

Another resident said it was so badly designed that you can’t see who’s coming if you have to give way from the mini-roundabout.

“So the options are reverse a queue of cars or mount the pavement. Olympic gold for incompetence to the people who designed and passed this.”

Another resident said: “Happened to me on the school run last week. He was doing around 30 and just went on the pavement like it was a road.”

A horse rider who regularly rides through the village said coming through on horseback is “quite scary”.

“Because of the width of the pavement there’s not enough room for traffic to pass us but people still do literally brushing us. We have no choice but to go through the village to get to the only bridle paths in the area.

A van was also parked on the pavement with a sign by the owner inviting 'keyboard warriors' to come in and talk to him if they had a problem with where his van was parked. (Image: Packet Staff)

“Too wide of pavement and the traffic control should of been on the other side because coming over the bridge you cannot see what's coming down through the village, I predict a few collisions happening there."

Former parish councillor and local fisherman Chris Vinnicombe said the scheme was badly planned and needs to be reworked.

“The school kids could have done a better plan than this,” he said. “There is a blind spot coming up from the mini roundabout as you commit to pass the new restriction, and further up the new pavement is far too wide and allows traffic onto it easily being set so low, had it been half the width with a raised kerb this would of allowed vehicles to pass and made it safer for pedestrians.

“Do we need to wait for an accident to happen before getting this lash up sorted?”

School coach driver Craig George, who says he drives the school coach from Penryn to Mylor most days, says as a professional driver it is “one of the most ridiculous traffic calming measures on our network.”

He added: “I'm all for making our villages safer, but this particular measure puts drivers of large vehicles in an impossible situation that makes us look like the bad guys.”

Cornwall Council have been contacted for comment.