More than £3m will be put into new safety measures to cut the number of serious and fatal crashes on a busy main road in Newcastle.
City transport officials have promised upgrades to the A186 after being given a multi-million pound cash boost by the Government. The route, the Newcastle section of which runs all the way from Denton Burn to Walker, has been identified among 27 of the most high-risk roads in England which are being targeted for improvements.
According to the Road Safety Foundation, there were 262 collisions on the A186 from 2016 to 2020 – 53 of which were fatal or serious. The new measures could include installing signalised crossings to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as better road markings and signage.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “We have been awarded Safer Roads Funding of £3.65m for work to improve safety on the A186. The proposals include improvements to a number of junctions along the corridor and are aimed at reducing the risk of fatal or serious injuries.
“The A186 was identified as a priority route for funding by the Road Safety Foundation and the Department for Transport. Consultation on proposals for each location, which will include measures such as signalised crossings to make the junctions safer for people walking and cycling, will take place later this year, with major works due to start in 2024.”
The A186 is the only road in the North East to be included in the £47.5m investment announced by the Department for Transport last week. The Government said that, according to Road Safety Foundation analysis, the promised safety improvements across the country should prevent around 760 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years.
Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation said: “Systematic changes have already had a big impact on road death and serious injury, for example seatbelts and airbags protect lives when crashes happen. In the same way we can design roads safely so when crashes occur, people can walk away.
“This can be done by clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatchings to add space between vehicles which provides safer junctions like roundabouts, or adding signalisation and / or turning pockets, and including facilities for walking and cycling.”
Transport secretary Mark Harper added: “Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe. We’re injecting £47.5 million so that local councils around the country have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while reducing congestion and emissions and supporting local economies.”
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