News - Sept 2017 - Bethany Lane
22 Sep 2017
BETHANY LANE - SAVED FROM THE RAT RUN at least for now
Thanks to the residents and councillor Andy Kelly, Bethany Lane has been temporarily closed as a road to vehicles for 12 months and the hope is to make this permanent. So horse riders, cyclists and walkers will be able to continute to safely use this route as a bridleway.
Bethany Lane is a popular bridleway in Newhey and is usually a safe route, avoiding the main Huddersfield road. However with the recent gas works creating severe delays in traffic, the Lane has become something of a rat run for vehicles, particularly when there are traffic problems on the M62. This increase in traffic has caused problems for the residents including damage to the boundary walls and is a serious hazard to riders, cyclists and walkers.
The residents and councillor Andy Kelly have been campaigning to try and stop vehicles using the Lane as a rat run. This has not been straighforward because despite Bethany Lane being a bridleway (therefore not for vehiclular use), it was also adopted as a highway for vehicles several years ago to provide maintained access for residents. However, no-one appears to have considered the implications of this for the safety of its use as a bridleway, We've "got away with it" for many years as only local traffic knew of and used the route - local traffic who are used to encountering horse riders, cyclists and walkers.
The good news is though the residents have won and managed to get a temporary closure of the Lane as a highway i.e. to vehicles, for 12 months. The aim is to make this closure permanent and MNBG have offered their full support as we have concerns about the safety of the bridleway for riders, cyclists and walkers.