UPDATED: Wembley Pavement Widening Mystery

Only days after barriers were erected to widen pavements in Wembley High Road they have been pushed back creating a barrier to pedstrians rather than helping them. The point of pavement widening was so that pedestrians could socially distance in a very crowded area.

Cyclists and pedestrians took to Twitter calling for an explanation and prosecution of any organisation or individual who had taken the law into their own hands.

UPDATE

Brent Council has responded to one of thse complained via Twitter:

We've passed this onto the relevant team who are going to send someone out today to move the barriers back to their correct locations and see if there's anything more we can do to prevent this happening again.

Brent Council will widen pavements on Wembley High Road on Thursday

Brent Council is to widen the pavement on either side of Wembley High Road on Thursday 21st May to aid social distancing in this very busy area.

The widening will be accomplished by barriers (see above) and will be outsde McDonalds at 483 High Road for 30 metres and beside the bus stop adjacent to Primark at 453 High Road for 60 metres.

Brent Council said:

We have seen that streets are becoming busier, and so it is important that these additional safety measures are put in place as soon as possible to help people observe social distancing.

We are therefore planning to widen the pavement using pedestrian barriers and install signage to encourage people to keep their distance. The images below are an example of the measures that will be provided. 

Where there are bus stops, gaps in the barriers will be provided to allow passengers access. For longer sections we will also provide gaps for access for servicing such as collecting refuse.

Along with these measures, businesses must to do everything they can to support social distancing, including limiting the number of customers on their premises and managing queues outside.

Longer-term measures to promote walking and cycling 

In the long term, we want to make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle locally, shop on their local high street, reach local amenities such as green spaces, schools and doctors, all while maintaining physical distancing. 

We are looking at ways of doing this in Brent and will be setting out our further plans for encouraging green, active travel shortly.

Details of priority areas in Brent to support social distancing

I now have details of the areas highlighted for action by Brent Council to support social distancing. The action has been taken by emergency measure.

UPDATE: Some Brent pavements to be widened to help with social distancing

Press release from Brent Council - it would be useful to have more detail.(request sent to Brent Council Press Office0.

Pavements in some of the busiest streets in Brent are to be temporarily widened to help residents stay safe and slow the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing.

'Pinch points' have been identified for additional safety measures, which will see more than 760 metres of barriers put down around busy stretches of pavement to help protect the community.

New signage, reminding people of the 2 metre rule, will support the police and enforcement officers who will be focusing on many of these hotspots. In some locations, bus stops may be temporarily moved and parking suspended to allow more space for walkers. 

These measures will be focused on stretches where the width of the pavement and foot traffic is most likely to make it difficult for people to stay two metres away from others.

It is the first step in plans to help the borough return to normal, with further measures to boost green, active travel set to follow.

Cllr Krupa Sheth, Lead Member for Environment, said:

As lockdown rules are gradually eased, we want to encourage as many people as possible to continue to walk and cycle. But we do know that many of our high streets can get extremely busy and it is crucial that people can remain 2 metres apart. This package of measures sets out how we will help people to remain socially distant in the immediate term.

Cllr Shama Tatler, Lead Member for Regeneration, Property and Planning, said:

It's important to stress that this is just the first part of a longer-term recovery. One positive to come from this awful pandemic is the way that it's prompted people to rediscover the benefits of walking and cycling. We will also shortly be setting out plans that will set us in good stead for the future, encouraging green, active travel in our brilliant borough in the months and years to come.

First reaction from Brent Cyclists:

After which Cllr Tatler added some details: