Don’t put brakes on safety fight

Today we report that Grahame Morris , the MP leading the fight for A19 safety improvements, has said he will not give up until the Government relents and takes up his call for improvements – and neither should we.

Easington’s Labour member is urging the Department for Transport to carry out an inquiry to look into why there are so many collisions on the route, with that call backed by our Safe A19 campaign, which has already been signed by more than 1,130 people.

The safety fight received a setback on Thursday when transport ministers said that research by the Safer Road Foundation did not list the dual carriageway as one of the top 50 list of roads which were eligible for cash from the £175million fund set aside for work.

It has, however, awarded cash to a four-mile stretch of the A1290, from the A182 at Usworth to the A19 at Boldon, and while that may need safety measures, surely the hundreds of crashes on the A 19 each year must qualify the major road for more urgent action.

But Mr Morris came fighting back yesterday, saying he is concerned about the Department for Transport’s ‘lack of interest and concern’ and ‘despite the road blocks from ministers, we need to continue to pursue them until they relent’.

And he added: “I ask everyone affected by the frequent accidents on the A19 to contact the Department for Transport; use social media; sign the petition; and together demand Ministers listen to our concerns and take steps to reduce accidents on the A19.”

We agree. People should tweet DfT via @transportgovuk using the hashtags #A19 #RoadSafety #InvestInTheNorth and #SafeA19.

Our Change.org petition can be found via https://goo. gl/ubdhzF.

Let’s really make our voices heard.