When is a road not a road?

Sandtree

Our road is broadly parallel to another and both go over a small waterway. The other road you'd barely notice you are going over the water but our road has a historic bridge. The bridge has bollards at each end making it physically impossible for a car/van to get on it but there are no signs at all. You get onto our part of the road just passed the bridge and even at the T junction there is no signs to say that turning towards the bridge is a dead end.

Is it legally a road or something else? 

The area has had a bit of problems with kids on scooters/mopeds snatching phones/bags etc and 3-4 times seen police chasing them and the bike obv cross the bridge between the bollards and the cops have to turn around. Plus the main road is closed at the moment so there is a constant stream of Deliveroo/Uber Eats motorbikes crossing the bridge

 

lincroft1710

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

Car_54

It can be used by motorbikes, cycles, horses and pedestrians, so it's still a road.

Sandtree

lincroft1710 said:

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

The question is if the bridge surface is legally a road

Grumpy_chap

I assume the historic bridge is not of sufficient weight capacity for modern vehicles and volume of traffic, so the new bridge is built along side to maintain traffic flow leaving the old bridge as a foot / cycle path.

itsmeagain

What's the significant difference it makes whatever it's called?

Sandtree

Grumpy_chap said:

I assume the historic bridge is not of sufficient weight capacity for modern vehicles and volume of traffic, so the new bridge is built along side to maintain traffic flow leaving the old bridge as a foot / cycle path.

The current road bridge was built more in the transformation of the area from dockland to residential and both bridges were traffic carrying at the time. There is a second of these bridges in the area but that one was moved to become a footbridge only and a brick bridge built at the same time. Until then there basically a single road that went round the outside of the headland and so the area became an island when the both bridges were lifted... old timers reminisce of using it as an excuse for not going to school in the 1950s. They filled in most the docks and built out the road infrastructure so needed many more bridges.

I'm not sure when the bollards were put up, seen a photo from 2003 and the bollards are there so its not recent. 

Car_54

Sandtree said:

lincroft1710 said:

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

The question is if the bridge surface is legally a road

There are no signs indicating that it's a footpath, bridle path or cycle path, or indeed forbidding any class of user, so it is clearly open to any road user who can fit between the bollards. Therefore it's a road in the context of most road traffic offences. If it's maintained by the council it's also a "public road" for VED purposes.

From the photo, it doesn't appear to have street lighting. If so, whether there is an enforceable speed limit will depend on the distance between the nearest lamps on either end.

AdrianC

Sandtree said:

lincroft1710 said:

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

The question is if the bridge surface is legally a road

You mean is there a public vehicular right of way? No, clearly not.

Ohnoes! The scrotes and delivery riders are breaking the law!

Sandtree

AdrianC said:

Sandtree said:

lincroft1710 said:

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

The question is if the bridge surface is legally a road

You mean is there a public vehicular right of way? No, clearly not.

Ohnoes! The scrotes and delivery riders are breaking the law!

Out of shot to the right is a pub with a large open beer garden... there's normally a bit of a cheer each time the bikes cross and the cops have to turn around.  

The question is purely out of curiousity, the fact my deliveries are not being delayed by the roadworks is equally a positive thing in my book.

Car_54

AdrianC said:

Sandtree said:

lincroft1710 said:

What else would it be? A cul-de-sac is still a road.

The question is if the bridge surface is legally a road

You mean is there a public vehicular right of way? No, clearly not.

Ohnoes! The scrotes and delivery riders are breaking the law!

Which law do you have in mind? There appears nothing to stop vehicles, albeit narrow ones.