Average speed cameras being considered to make route between Buxton and Whaley Bridge safer

Members of Derbyshire County (DCC) are meeting today (September 8) to discuss how to spend a £5.6m funding package given to the authority by the government from the Safer Roads Fund.

The money will be spent on two roads which were ranked in the top 50 highest risk roads in England – the A5004 Long Hill between Buxton and Whaley Bridge and the A5012 Via Gellia between Cromford and Newhaven.

Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport said: “We are committed to making Derbyshire’s roads a safer place for everyone and we welcome the significant £5.6 million grant from the government’s Safer Roads Fund.

“To improve safety along these two roads, we have developed a range of proposals including redesigning road junctions, better signing, new pedestrian crossings and the limited use of average speed cameras on rural sections of both routes.

“Our next steps will be to talk to the local community and people who use both routes to gather their feedback about our proposals to help us, together, significantly improve safety along both routes.”

The Buxton to Whaley Bridge road known as Long Hill has been allocated £2.54m to make improvements.

And the proposals for the A5004, which are subject to public consultation, could include the following safety improvements;

*Average speed cameras from the 30mph limit in Buxton to the 30mph limit in Whaley Bridge to tackle inappropriate speeding and reduce the number and severity of collisions.

*A comprehensive review of speed limits along the route as well as improving the junction with the A53 in Buxton

*New rumble strips to alert drivers to speed limit changes.

*A new crossing point on the outskirts of Whaley Bridge is being considered as are making cycle improvements between Buxton and Whaley Bridge helping to link the area to the county’s cycle network.

*There is also talk of reducing the tightness of one of the the bends and applying central hatching road markings to reduce the visual width of the road.

*Installing roadside safety barriers and bike guard on the outside of bends is also one of the proposals being put forward.

*Other parts of the proposal include better signing, lining and improved drainage to reduce surface water flooding.

High Peak MP Robert Largan said: “It’s really positive news DCC has secured substantial funding from the Conservative Government to improve road safety on Long Hill.

”The council are rightly consulting with residents on a number of different options and I strongly encourage local people to share their views.”

How the money should be spent is still to be decided and Ruth George, Derbyshire County Councillor for Whaley Bridge and Blackbrook Division, said: “We have to see what people think about the consultation.

“I know average speed cameras have been mentioned as an idea but I don’t think it is even possible to drive at 50 miles per hour around the tight bends on Long Hill where the accidents have been happening so I don’t know if this would be the best solution.

"Maybe better signage and cutting back the foliage would be a better spend of the money so motorist can see better and then spend money on improving the cycle ways which would really improve the road.

"I’m pleased that cycling improvements have been included at my request, but the council’s current aspirations seem very limited.

The A5004 is currently closed between Buxton and Whaley Bridge with work underway to repair a major landslip, but is expected to reopen soon.

Mrs George says she has been pushing DCC on doing the work at the same time as the landslip for two years but says they were ‘slow to act’.

The landslip repair required contractors to dig down six metres below the surface to underpin the road, and build a new reinforced earth retaining wall. Work started in May and is due to finish in a few weeks.

Mrs George said: “I know there has been a lot of disruption on the Long Hill road in recent months but I was told last week by the developers when I was down on the site that they plan to have it reopened soon, which is good news.

"These new plans will of course cause disruption again but the long term gains will be felt by local residents and tourists who can both enjoy the road safely which should outweigh the short term disruption.”

Mr Largan added: “In the short-term, it’s really important that we get Long Hill back open again to relieve congestion on Fairfield Road and the A6, which has been a traffic nightmare over the summer.”

A spokesperson for DCC said: “The A5004 Long Hill road is currently programmed to open back under traffic signal control on Saturday October 1.

“The scheme is progressing well with the new reinforced earth retaining structure founded on the bedrock beneath the road and the scheme cost is still within the expected budget.”

Subject to approval by county councillors at today’s Cabinet meeting, a public consultation will be held in the next few months for both the A5004 Long Hill proposals and the A5012 Via Gellia proposals.

If the proposals are approved improvements will be implemented over a three-year period.

What do you think of the plans? Email your thoughts to lucy.ball@nationalworld.com

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