Drivers, passengers and cyclists across Nottingham will benefit from a £1.4 million injection into enhancing the safety of two of the most high-risk roads, the Department for Transport confirmed today (6 April 2023).
Through the third round of the Safer Roads Fund, 27 new schemes will be delivered, benefiting road users around the country by driving forward safety improvements such as:
• re-designing junctions
• improving signage and road markings
The programme will reduce the risk of collisions which will in turn reduce congestion, journey times and emissions.
Nottingham City Council has been awarded £475,000 for the A609 ( Wollaton Road ) and £950,000 for the A6130 ( Radford Boulevard ).
As part of the fund, the government is continuing to deliver a wide range of improvements across all roads, while working with local authorities and safety groups.
To date, £100 million has been provided through the programme to improve the 50 most dangerous roads in England, the majority of which are rural roads.
Some of the improvements already made include improved signage, safer pedestrian crossings and better-designed junctions.
This additional investment builds on the government’s plans to recruit a specialised team of inspectors to build the country’s first-ever Road Safety Investigation Branch. The team will look at how and why incidents happen and build an enhanced understanding of how we can better mitigate collisions.
According to Road Safety Foundation analysis, early estimates suggest that the £47.5 million investment should prevent around 760 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years, with a benefit to society of £420 million.
Once the whole life costs are factored in for the schemes, the overall benefit cost ratio of the investment is estimated at 7.4, meaning for every £1 invested the societal benefit would be £7.40.
It also follows the actions the government has already taken to improve road safety, including:
- banning any use of handheld mobile phones behind the wheel
- updating the Highway Code to introduce a hierarchy of road users, which places road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy
The allocation of £47.5 million to 27 different schemes has been based on data independently surveyed and provided by the Road Safety Foundation. The data analysed is based on a road safety risk, looking at data on those killed and seriously injured alongside traffic levels.
