Calls to improve safety at M6 junction

Calls have been made for more safety improvements at an M6 junction in South Cumbria.

In September, stop signs were installed on the exit slip roads at Junction 37 on to the A684, but Westmorland & Lonsdale MP Tim Farron and local councillors want further safety measures introduced.

Mr Farron and Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale councillors Hazel Hodgson and Ian Mitchell have written to Westmorland and Furness Council and National Highways.

They claimed that National Highways had reported that recent CCTV footage showed many instances of drivers ignoring the signs and travelling straight across the junction.

In their letter, they have asked the highways authorities to:

• Introduce a 40mph speed limit on the stretch of the A684 at Junction 37, with a speed camera to enforce this.

• Improve layout of the slip roads leading onto the A684 from the M6, including introducing rumble strips and red markings to make it even clearer to road users that they are leaving the motorway and must slow down to a stop.

  
  

They said: “The recent video evidence gathered by National Highways which shows that many drivers are ignoring the new ‘STOP’ signs and are dangerously flying over the junction is as terrifying as it is sadly unsurprising.

“Over the past few years we have seen far too many tragic deaths at this junction and countless near misses.

“We are grateful for the work that both National Highways and Westmorland and Furness Council have undertaken in the past six months in an attempt to improve safety, but it painfully clear that more needs to be done.”

They said they would be willing to meet with the local authority and National Highways to discuss extra safety measures.

A National Highways spokesman said: “Drivers failing to stop at Junction 37 is a concern.

“Unfortunately, we aren’t able to determine whether they are consciously ignoring the requirement to stop, or if some aren’t noticing the very clear signage.

“We have made the police aware of our findings and we’ll continue to work with them to gain a greater understanding of the issue.

“We are already looking at options for how we can further improve safety at this junction. If extra measures are identified, we’ll aim to bring works forward to deliver them. We need to be confident that any additional measures would improve driver awareness without the risk of causing confusion.

“The A684 is managed by Westmorland and Furness Council so a decision on reducing the speed limit would be for them to consider.

“We will continue to work with the council to support any measures they feel are appropriate on their network.”