Council’s ‘long-term vision’ to cut congestion on the busy A61
IT’S known as one of the busiest roads in North East Derbyshire, with drivers often having to wait in long queues to get to their destination.
Now, in a bid to end the congestion, Derbyshire County Council has announced a “long-term vision to cut congestion on A61 Derby Road”.
The long-term plan calls for three elements to be complete, including the short-term solution of installing measures to keep the road moving, such as a new traffic management control centre, which is due to go live next year, giving the county council a better ability to respond to problems and inform drivers of upcoming problems.
The county council say the second part, known as “medium-term” will identify preferred solutions to tackle some of the pinch points often blocked up with traffic, especially during the rush hours. It will also look at challenges near the A61 such as electronic variable messaging signs, changes to the Storforth Lane junction and improving visibility.
Their “long-term” plan for the road will see major engineering projects investigations take place which could potentially be needed and might be useful in reducing congestion, although the council says these would have to be backed by funding from central government.
Leader of Derbyshire County Council, Councillor Barry Lewis, said: “As the main A-road south of Chesterfield, Derby Road is used by approximately 20,000 vehicles every day and although we have been doing what we can to ease the situation we know that a long-term solution is needed to address this growing problem.
“This is a real opportunity to look at the bigger picture and think about what types of infrastructure we need, big and small, to improve the way we travel in this area. As well as making improvements to the road, that means looking at creating viable alternatives to travelling by car to benefit the environment as part of our commitment to help reduce carbon emissions in Derbyshire to net-zero by 2050 or sooner.
“While some things can be done now, we recognise that there will be things that take longer – possibly many years – to agree and find funding for.
“That’s why we need a long-term plan to set the direction and help us achieve our long-term ambitions for this key area of our road network.”