STEEL GATES REPLACE WOODEN PLANTER BOXES IN BUSHY PARK
The new gates on Chestnut Avenue in Bushy Park have now been installed offering extra safety for cyclists using the route through the park.
There have been several incidents, thought to have been caused by the view being partly-obscured by the large wooden planters, which will be fully removed when signage and reflectors are added.
A spokesperson for the Friends of Bushy and Home Parks said: “There are to be new gates installed on Chestnut Avenue replacing the box planters. The gates provide a safer view beyond them of anything oncoming, unlike the planters which obscured the view.
“It was always the plan to have gates, but they had to wait in a queue of other works, so the planters were a temporary measure. The announcement on Facebook that the gates were to be installed stirred up complaints again about closure of the avenue to through traffic.
“The comments are misinformed by assumptions that the closure was because of the pandemic; it wasn’t, the closure is a part of a wider strategy reducing or removing traffic in all Royal Parks.
“The complainants also ignore the point that the park is meant to be a place to visit and enjoy for calm and well-being, not to provide a rat-run for passing traffic.
“Now before we receive further complaints about the closure affecting accessibility for visitors with mobility impairment, our new buggy service will provide a solution for them and add to their enjoyment of the park. Just not when very cold and wet!”