Exeter approves £500k scheme to reopen road to traffic

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 13:03 · Archive

Exeter councillors have backed a £500,000 plan to reopen Dryden Road to cars, closed since the Covid pandemic.

Exeter's highways and traffic orders committee has backed designs to reopen Dryden Road to vehicles. The road has been closed to cars and lorries since the Covid pandemic in 2020, when it was designated as a safe cycling route in and out of the city centre.

The £500,000 project will include cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings, a 20mph speed limit and speed humps. Supporters of reopening argue the scheme provides substantial safety measures for all road users. Campaigners who fought to keep cars out say traffic, fumes and congestion were simply moved to other nearby roads during the closure.

The Exeter Cycling Campaign says it is preparing a legal challenge when official traffic regulation orders are published in the coming weeks. The campaign claims the plan will increase motor vehicles by 1,500 daily and offers no information on congestion at the nearby Bovemoors Lane roundabout, making the road unsafe and unwelcoming for less confident cyclists including schoolchildren.

How it is being reported

• Legal battle looms over £500,000 plan to reopen Exeter commuter roadCampaigners who fought to keep cars out of an Exeter commuter route are preparing to mount a legal battle.Exmouth Journal · 14 Oct, 12:30
• £500k to be spent on reopening Exeter's most divisive road to carsCyclists are immediately preparing a legal challengeDevonLive · 12 Oct, 15:12

In this story: Exeter · Dryden Road · Exeter Cycling Campaign · Bovemoors Lane

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