Work on the road safety improvements to the A684 in the south of the county started this week. The work which is being funded as part of a £9.4m allocation to Cumbria County Council from the Department for Transport (DfT) Safer Roads Project will see improvements to the A684 and A592 between Rheged and Windermere in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
The DfTs Safer Roads Fund was set up by the government, working with the Road Safety Foundation to identify the top 50 most dangerous Roads in the UK and invited local authorities to propose schemes for these roads.
Cumbria County Council undertook local stakeholder engagement in 2019 in Sedbergh. During the engagement, plans for traffic signals on Lincoln’s Inn Bridge were proposed. Unfortunately, due to Coronavirus restrictions, the follow-up face to face engagement sessions planned for earlier this year with the local community in Sedbergh were postponed, as the Council continued to determine how best to engage with the public whilst maintaining public safety.
Further to information released last week about the scheme, the county council has received feedback from the community about the proposed traffic signals on Lincoln’s Inn Bridge which the project team, in discussion with the local member and design consultant, have now used to reconsider the designs. Having listened to all the feedback it has been decided not to proceed with traffic signals, and instead to look at alternative options which would include clearer signage on the approaches to the bridge, and road lining to provide better advance warning, whilst ensuring the safety of all road users is paramount.
Cllr Keith Little, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has been in touch with us to let us know their views on this element of the scheme. I’m pleased we have been able to take on board the feedback from the community to look at alternative options which will better meet the needs of local people.
“I’d again like to thank residents and the wider travelling public for their patience and cooperation whilst this work is carried out.”
