A decision on removing Watford’s infamous width restriction in Woodmere Avenue is expected next month.

Residents had a chance to contribute to a formal consultation over potential changes for Woodmere Avenue in February and March after initial responses suggested strong support for installing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

Hertfordshire County Council officers have been considering the findings and it has now been confirmed that an announcement on any future changes will be made in July, once the restricted pre-election period has ended.

The existing design.The existing design. (Image: Stephen Danzig)

Prior to the bollards, HGVs would use the residential road as a rat-run between the A41 Colne Way and Bushey Mill Lane but repeat smashes with the tight posts, on a very slight bend, had written off vehicles and tipped them onto two wheels – going viral in the process.

The design was replaced with a more forgiving layout in August 2022, which has dramatically reduced but not eliminated smashes, however this was always meant to be a temporary measure ahead of cameras being installed.

The previous design.The previous design. (Image: UGC)

The road is on a bus route meaning a bus-only gap has been left in the middle of the carriageway which some large vehicles have taken advantage of to skirt the restriction.

Potential changes include keeping the existing bollards while adding cameras, removing the bollards and only having cameras, or removing all restrictions.