ePetition details

Implement A6 safety improvements

We, the undersigned, petition the county council to to complete the implementation of agreed safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists on the A6 between Lancaster city centre and Galgate as a matter of urgency.

In 2014 the 9 kilometres of the A6 from Lancaster city centre to Galgate were identified as the most dangerous stretch of road in the UK for pedestrians and cyclists, according to a national audit of road danger by the independent Road Safety Foundation. The County Council’s own figures show that in the 8 years from 2007-15 28 pedestrians and 22 cyclists were killed or seriously injured** on this stretch of road.

In 2015 Dynamo (Lancaster & District Cycle Campaign) and Lancashire County Council identified a number of danger reduction measures to be implemented as a matter of urgency. These including new lines, new signs, safety improvements to junctions, and improving cycle lane access on and off the Pointer roundabout.

As of December 2016 none of these junction improvements nor the work at the Pointer roundabout has been done, despite the Council’s agreement in 2015 that they needed to be completed urgently. Only worn-out cycle lanes in Lancaster city centre have been repainted and some small signs have been erected in an already cluttered stretch of King Street. These measures fall woefully short of what was agreed in 2015.

Dynamo is asking Lancashire County Council to honour its original agreement to implement all these danger reduction measures as a matter of urgency.

* http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.org/media/30870/eurorap_brochure_2014.pdf
** https://lancasterdynamo.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/letter-from-john-fillis-july-2016.pdf


This ePetition ran from 10/01/2017 to 07/03/2017 and has now finished.

733 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

Thank you for your petition regarding cycling safety measures on the A6 and in Lancaster city centre.

Whilst we are still aiming to complete all of the identified safety measures between the County Council and Dynamo, there are a number of issues which are causing delays, some of which are beyond our control.

Chapel Street / Damside Street junction

Improvements at this junction are developer funded as part of the planning consent for an adjacent development. We are working closely with the developer's consultant for the improvements to be implemented as soon as possible.

Chapel Street / Butterfield Street junction

I can advise that a 'two way' cycle sign is not a permitted variant of the cycle lane sign we have installed. The only option would be to modify the sign to read 'cycle lanes' and omit the directional arrow, however, the safety record of the junction has improved significantly since the signing was introduced, with the last recorded injury collision involving a cyclist being almost five years ago. We will of course continue to monitor the situation. In the longer term, we would like to permanently close off Butterfield Street to motor traffic at the Chapel Street end, however, this is dependent on the progress of a nearby development.

Pointer Roundabout

The proposed zebra crossing on South Road will necessitate the removal of the cycle lane markings along the length of the zig-zags. It is not possible to provide both, however, the zig-zags will be painted on top of a red surfaced strip the width of the current cycle lane, as has been done on the Greaves Road exit from the roundabout. The new zebra crossing will provide cyclists using the off-carriageway cycle route around the roundabout with a safer means of crossing South Road. We are planning to install the zebra crossing this summer.

Sharp's Hill

The original proposal was to enable cyclists to cross the bottom of Sharp's Hill after using Belle Vue Terrace and re-join the A6 heading south. Due to the constraints of the junction layout and gradients involved it has not been possible to design a satisfactory scheme that would substantially improve matters for cyclists compared to the current layout.

Scotforth Road

The revised road markings at the Barton Road junction and BP Garage are now complete following numerous weather related delays after the carriageway resurfacing work, however, red surfacing has yet to be installed on the cycle lane across Barton Road, this will be done at the next available opportunity.

Your petition references the 2014 Road Safety Foundation EuroRAP report, which named the A6 between M6 Junction 33 and the City Centre as one of Britain's persistently high risk roads. I am pleased to report that we are currently working in partnership with the Road Safety Foundation to improve safety throughout the route as part of the recently announced Department for Transport (DfT) Safer Roads Fund initiative. A video survey and hazard assessment was undertaken by the Foundation in January 2017, and we are working with them to submit a bid to DfT for funding to provide additional safety engineering measures.

We hope this information assures you that the County Council has already implemented a number of cycle safety measures on the A6 and further measures are being progressed. We are constantly looking to improve conditions for cyclists in Lancashire, with a continued annual financial commitment to cycle safety schemes, development of the new Lancashire Cycling and Walking Strategy and active participation in new initiatives such as the DfT's Safer Roads Fund.