Otley Road bus stop, Headingley: Leeds City Council issues apology for construction mistake blocking access to buses as part of project to encourage active travel

Yorkshire resident, Andrew Ward, posted a picture he took of the bus stop on Facebook on June 27, 2023, with the caption: “Leeds City Council excel again.... Spot the mistake.” Within 24 hours the post attracted the attention of hundreds of people who appeared frustrated by the obvious error.

The image shows a row of poles placed along the road in front of the bus stop on Otley Road, which had blocked access to buses and denied passengers a chance to use the bus stop.

Mr Ward told The Yorkshire Post: “I took the picture yesterday opposite Woodies pub. They've been back today to remove them.

“My first reaction was Leeds City Council excel again then I wondered how long they would stay intact.

“Half of them up through Headingley have been knocked over. [And it means] more taxpayers money to have them removed.”

More than 140 people replied to the post.

One said: “How much money has been wasted installing then removing them? Yet another example of incompetent council wasting money again, they reckon there's no money to fix potholes or put on events yet they waste it doing this!”

Leeds City Council has since apologised for the mistake made and assured that the issue has been resolved.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “As part of our efforts to encourage active travel, a contractor has been working on behalf of the council to put in place a series of one-metre-high segregation poles along a section of cycle lane on the A660 Otley Road in Far Headingley.

“During Tuesday’s work, a small number of the poles were mistakenly installed in front of a bus stop near Weetwood Lane.

“These wrongly-positioned poles were quickly removed and full access to the bus stop restored. We apologise for any inconvenience.”