A motorist has managed to dodge a fine for driving through Manchester’s divisive bus gate — but others won't be able to now.
The driver, who has asked to stay anonymous, contacted the MEN after he won a traffic tribunal with Manchester council. He was handed a fine for driving through the Bridge Street bus gate — which opened at the end of last year — on February 20, 2023.
“I looked at the video and it was clear as day,” he explained. “I drove through it, there was no excuse.”
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However, after heading to the area to see how he could have made such a mistake, the driver, from Oldham, found out he had not missed a sign before the start of the bus gate. That was because, on his journey leaving the council-owned Bridge Street car park, there weren’t any.
“From certain approaches, there’s no excuse — but coming from the car park, there are no signs whatsoever,” he continued. “My wife and I have done that trip a number of times over the years. It’s the first place you try to park in.”
That goes against official guidance, according to the motorist's tribunal claim. The Department for Transport's Traffic Signs Manual says: “4.3.5. While the financial incentive to place only one terminal sign is obvious, there will be many situations where two signs are necessary. Drivers should not be placed in the situation where they might not see the sign before making a manoeuvre at a road junction.”
After getting the fine, the man appealed to the authority, but this was knocked back — so he decided to take it to a traffic penalty tribunal. Council officers did not contest his case at the tribunal, so his fine was cancelled.
“It seems strange,” he went on. “To me, that says they’ve looked again [and realised] there’s no signs [from the car park]. I did not realise it.”
Following his win, the motorist contacted the MEN to warn other drivers of the signage issue from the car park, and, following enquiries from the newspaper to Manchester City Council, it appears new signs have been installed. A spokesperson for the council explained: “The Council went through an extensive and long-running process to approve the implementation of the bus gate on Bridge Street.
“This process included assessment of the signage in place, which was judged to be appropriate. A lot of work took place to ensure that motorists would be aware of the bus gate before it went live, as well as a period of grace afterwards so that motorists who went through it inadvertently were not penalised.
“It is not a DfT requirement to sign for private accesses, however, to provide additional guidance to drivers exiting the car park that there is a bus gate, temporary signs have already been installed and a permanent sign will be installed in the near future.”
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