Road safety improvements are being considered in the Carlisle area after discussions between a county councillor and highways teams.
Cumbria County Council member Roger Dobson has called for a number of road safety improvements on problem roads in the district.
Chief among them is a need for changes on the A69. In a letter to National Highways boss Nick Harris, Cllr Dobson said: “Many of us have been campaigning for the A69 to be detrunked from Brampton to Junction 43 of the M6 and for through traffic to be redirected onto the A689.”
Cllr Dobson said that the issue of a bypass for Warwick Bridge was first mooted 90 years ago.
“There appears to be universal agreement that this change should happen. The difficulty is disentangling the two PFI agreements that cover maintenance of the A69 (Road Link Ltd) and the A689 (Connect CNDR Ltd).
“Cumbria County Council is currently negotiating on this with National Highways and the Department for Transport. As the direct cost of delivering this important change will be modest, one hopes that a conclusion will be reached soon.”
In his letters, Cllr Dobson told highways bosses that a crossing guard, Andrew Hopkins, was hit by a van on the road in January and was lucky to walk away with very minor injuries.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week Cllr Dobson said: “I had a meeting with them on the February 21 and that very day I was talking to them, a schoolgirl got knocked down.”
Cllr Dobson was told at the meeting that the highways authority is considering the potential detrunking of the A69 and reviewing the options with the Department for Transport and Cumbria County Council.
He has since received a further response from National Highways who said the process is unlikely to be resolved until the end of the existing contract in 2026.
But National Highways has confirmed that in the short term, it would instruct its contractor to undertake a study exploring how footpaths and crossing points on the A69 through Corby and Warwick Bridge could be improved for all non-motorist users.
An updated Route Safety Action Plan is also underway and set for completion by May.
Cllr Dobson has also successfully urged Cumbria County Council highways officers to consider speed restrictions in communities neighbouring Carlisle.
“I’ve now got an undertaking that officers are working on the implications of introducing 20 miles per hour zones in the villages.”
Special 20mph zones include traffic-calming measures in addition to signs.
Cllr Dobson is set to meet with National Highways again in June.
Executive director of operations Duncan Smith said: “We do take your concerns seriously and will be in touch to arrange the meeting to discuss the next steps as soon as we have completed our studies.”
