Views wanted on road safety plans in West End of Morecambe

Thursday, 18 January 2024 08:51

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

A new scheme will make roads safer in the West End of Morecambe

Residents have been asked for their views on making roads safer in the Sandylands and West End areas of Morecambe.

These areas have been chosen for a new scheme to create an area with safer, greener, and healthier streets - because they have had more traffic collisions than the national average in recent years.

Of all collisions, 38 per cent involved a pedestrian or cyclist with over half of those injured being children.

Lancashire County Council suggests that improvements could include:

· Traffic calming measures on some streets to reduce rat-running and speeding

· Improved or new crossing points to assist those walking, cycling, and wheeling - particularly on routes to school

· Further options including improvements to the street environment such as planters and parklets, as well as cycle parking facilities.

The county council has funding through the Department for Transport's Active Travel Fund (ATF) to deliver the scheme which they say will "help local people to use more sustainable forms of transport and enjoy their neighbourhood thanks to lower traffic levels and slower speeds".

"It will also make it easier for people to choose to walk, cycle or wheel for local trips rather than using the car," they said.

"Residents may have noticed cameras in locations around the area last year. The purpose of the cameras was to collect anonymised data on the number of vehicles and their speeds passing through problem areas.

"The data gathered shows that improvements are needed to reduce the volume and speed of vehicles. In almost all locations, the speed limit was exceeded and in one area, 82.5 per cent of vehicles were over the speed limit."

Here is a map showing the area covered by the scheme.