'Quiet Lanes' motorist ban in Cornwall scrapped

Only motorists living in the area, emergency services and those making deliveries were allowed to drive on the lanes during the trial

A trial aimed at reducing country lane traffic in Cornwall has been scrapped.

The Quiet Lanes trial banned motorists from driving through 15km (9.3 miles) of lanes between Shortlanesend and Threemilestone for 12 months.

Its target was to make the lanes safer for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders wanting to use the area.

Cornwall Council found the trial had "not been widely supported", with "no material shift" in the behaviour of motorists using the country lanes.

Philip Desmonde, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for transport, said the "majority" of comments received during the trial had "been negative".

He said: "The majority of these comments came from motorists who had previously used the lanes as a short cut to the A390.

"We have taken all the feedback, alongside the monitoring evidence, to make an informed decision on whether there are grounds to make the trial permanent, amend it or stop it.

"On balance, the decision is to stop and not make the order permanent as we take on board the valuable lessons that have been learned."

There was a slight decrease in the amount of traffic at the beginning of the trial in May 2021.

However in May 2022 surveys indicated that drivers "increasingly continued to ignore the signs and traffic prohibitions".

Only motorists living in the area, making deliveries and emergency services were allowed to drive on the lanes during the trial.

Mr Desmonde said finding the resources to maintain the motorists ban would have to be "self-enforcing" due to "competing priorities for police resources".

He said the council would work towards providing "more sustainable transport options, to relieve pressure on the A390 as well as supporting healthier, greener and more affordable ways of accessing services".