A main road on the Isle of Wight will get new safety measures thanks to a multi-million-pound injection of Government cash.
The Isle of Wight Council has been successful in its bid to the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund and has been given £2.1million to drive forward safety improvements to ‘high-risk areas’ of the A3056, between Blackwater and Lake.
Island Echo understands that the Council and Island Roads are working out how exactly to spend so much money, with some suggestions that it is actually more than what is required. But officials won’t be wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Proposed safety measures and upgrades include:
- A reduction in speed limits and the introduction of variable speed limits near schools;
- Improved pedestrian facilities, including new footpaths and bus stop upgrades;
- Speed reactive signage;
- Improvements to road markings and signage;
- Additional street lighting at key junctions.
Following Thursday’s announcement, detailed designs will be drawn up and there will be a period of consultation for some of the proposed changes.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said:
“The intention of the scheme is to reduce identified high-risk areas and to improve the overall safety of the route for all public highway users.
“Any targeted funding for areas where there are proven road safety concerns is very much welcomed by me. This is a significant amount of money, which will be important in terms of improvements to the A3056 and particularly for road safety.
Article continues below this advertisement “We will continue to work closely with local communities and parish councils to deliver these safety measures as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
The council’s bid was supported by the Island’s MP, Bob Seely, who said:
“I’m delighted the Department for Transport has agreed to finance the £2.14 million road safety scheme on the A3056.
“The council put together a strong bid and I was pleased to support it.
“I have no doubt that this scheme, combined with the excellent work being done by the new Isle of Wight Roads Policing Team, will make our roads safer.”
Announcing the allocation of £47.5m across the country in the Safer Roads Fund, transport secretary Mark Harper said:
“Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep motorists and all road users safer.
“That’s why we’re investing £14.4 million across the South East and this is the first crucial step to ensuring local councils have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while also reducing congestion and emissions.”
The funding has been allocated to 27 different schemes around the country where the risk of collisions causing death or serious injury are highest, according to a list drawn up by road casualty reduction charity the Road Safety Foundation.
And Fairlee road will remain a roller coaster ride
And how much is being spent on cycle infrastructure?
5/6 year’s ago they drilled bore holes along the race cousr ..if you can call it that..nothing since has been done its a discrace..the whole road from the garage to eastcowes/monkeytown roundabout needs doing..but will never happen.How come shiteland roads got a 20 year multimillion pound contract..which they have already blown,not done the main roads ..ohh beause they are so damaged they don’t know how to fix them..easy doing pavements and back roads which fall apart less than 2 years later..
Roundabout at Downend would be a good use of some of this windfall
True, there must be loads of roads which could do with improvement before they get around to the A3056.
Always thought this was one of the better roads.
Seems like a waste of money when the rest of the roads are literally falling apart.. maybe sort them out first
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t the historic PFI about repairing ALL Island Road to a satisfactory long term standard.
Perhaps Bob might take a bit more interest in this matter other than interbreeding of cats.
Yes, all £65 million of it, a government GRANT. But ‘they’ managed to turn it into a PFI which should not have been necessary.
Satisfactory long term standard? Some of them have already deteriorated back to a farm track.
George street is a total disaster, the tarmac is scabbing off the concrete and as far as i can find out Island roads have no plans to do anything about it, the Duver between Seaview and Puckpool is getting too dangerous to cycle on or ride a motorbike on.
Spend it on the roads that have and haven’t been resurfaced rather than do work on roads that have been ok and only accidents due to bad driving
keep your eye on the money… £2.1 million…today… by the time any work starts there will be less than a couple of hundred thousand…. if that much…
Am pretty sure one could get another company to do all that work for much less…they did Lake to Apse Heath already… plus they have done some near Blackwater too already… maybe they will use the left over to resurface more roads in Ryde…
Like all the schemes on the Islandt they all run over their budget,
mainly due to lazy B’stards standing around doing nothing and milking it.
My estimate it will cost £2 million plus just in wages, yet alone materials.
IW Council could not organise a p*ss up in a Brewery and don’t mention
Island Roads F.F.S
One of the most sensible things IW Council should do is
BAN PAVEMENT PARKING
How about Safer pavements for pedestrians, does
IW Council not care about Safety for pedestrians!
From what I have seen on the Island, Health and Safety does not exist,
try walking along Great Preston Road Ryde, past the old council houses.
Due to persons parking on the pavement, pedestrians, prams, dog walkers and Postman etc
have to walk out into the Road.
For months now vehicles park 24/7 on the pavement causing an obstruction to other motorists and pedestrians, and IW Council allow this.
I have no time for this incompetent Council
We get the point! Commenting on here will never get the problem solved. Try some vigilant anti. Good ol key scratch might work?
Anyway, Binstead Road is f**#ed up! Why didn’t island, sorry shoddy roads sort it out when they did work on the course way a few month back instead of putting tarmac on top of a perfectly good path that didn’t need work.
Never mind the jigsaw patchwork they’ve done at the bottom of Union St, literally pulled up cobblestones and filled it with tarmac. I reckon the boss wanted the stones for his driveway. Wink wink
Very true.
IW Council allow persons to park on pavements
making it UNSAFE for pedestrians & other motorists.
If I were responsible for Highways I would place Double yellow lines
outside the Council Houses along Great Preston Rd
To be honest the Numpties who park on pavements at no.90
Will still probably park on the pavement.
Some people are so thick.
There are so many parking issues on the Island and because
The Council / Island Roads do not address issues
many persons resort to taking action themselves.
Why we pay Council tax I don’t know. I thought a portion of the
Council tax pot went to the Police.
Services are sh*te on the Island.
So the ‘Mr Smith’, who is really a South African bitter tenant who has no drive of her own, hates those who does and repeatedly tries to blame other home owners by using their names on here to criticise a hard working tax paying family who keeps both her, and her ‘special needs’ offspring.
Perhaps if not happy in this all giving land, she should consider going back to her country of origin? She ‘might’ be happier and the whole road certainly would be as few like gutless bullies trying to blame other people for their grievances on a bb.
At least people in S.A know what pavements are for.
They are not for stupid B’stards parking on pavements.
Obviously lack of brains seems to be the problem.
We had a similar problem with a ‘problem’ family in Sandown
they were forever parking on pavements until the Council
finally put a Stop to it.
Tenants should realise they might live in a property
but that does not give them a right to park on a
Public Highway.
Some people are so selfish
The actual bullies are those who break the law by parking on Pavements.
Maybe one day the idiots will realise they are in the wrong.
Just drove along Great Preston Road and a black
Vauxhall Corsa reg EU11HCP is parked on the pavement outside the old council houses
What makes me laugh is the owner of the vehicles husband works for
Island Toads
Island Toads should teach the Numpties they employ right from wrong
Island Toads are fcuking useless
Just sums up Traffic Management on the Island.
If an organisation like Island Roads employs persons who make
Safety to persons unsafe, the Company in question
should discipline their employees.
Not setting a responsible example.
Island Roads do not Understand the word discipline.
The management are Numpties too!
It’s bin day in Ryde today, maybe they will finally scrap that yellow piece
of rubbish that parks 24/7 On the pavement o/s
No.90 Great Preston Road – blocking pedestrian walkway and
causing an obstruction to other motorists who drive along Great Preston Road
At f ing long last. Every shifty road on this Island needs sorting…100% not part way along the road like Newport to east cowes… The roads smooth, them ban, pot hole ally.. my son got pulled for dodging them as drink driving… lol… he was leaving work late and was concerned about the impact on his vintage carcass
Same out side smugglers cafe
Puzzles me how 50ft got missed
That bit of road is very dangerous especially for motobike amd peddle bikes
ye thats about right the popo fire and nhs should complain and sue the council.
£2.1 million on a few signs and street lamps?. The downs road is by far more dangerous, needs another through lane at traffic lights (Arreton towards Robin Hil roundabout). Numerous pot holes across the IOW that are so dangerous there will be a death. Poor road resurfacing creating standing water (flooding) . Also Newport to Race Course and others . So called intelligent traffic lights in Newport that are putting pedestrians at risk and on Coppins Bridge.
The only thing they will do is lower another set of speed limits and possibly paint another few miles of double yellow lines (that money will buy them an awful lot of pension pot paint)
The Island are incapable of painting Yellow lines.
Great Preston Road is begging for Double Yellow lines, so many
Numpties park on pavements.
The problem is that this money is not for sorting out fundamental problems like road surfaces that are literally crumbling away or signs that are unreadable or obscured due to lack of maintenance.
This money is for extra icing on top of the cake like extra double yellow lines or reduced speed limit signs.
So more money for Island Roads then?
That will mean yet more new vehicles to Swan around in and yet more queues of hi viz chatting. Maybe a few shovels of hoggin and some scalpings will be distributed in the innumerable holes around this island with what is left.
Junction at Downend has got to be worst and most dangerous on island. Was originally dug out for alterations in the 1960s but never done.
It’s not the road it’s the drivers.
The Council’s first thought on how to spend £2.1 million is a ‘reduction in speed limits’?
Besides, I thought that we paid Island Roads an insane sum of money to keep the roads to a decent, safe standard?
Sorry, why is this road any less safe than any other road on the Island. Might help if they removed the 50mph speed limit.Better to spend this money on resurfacing the road from Park Avenue to the Rex in Ventnor, That is a death trap to cyclists and motor cyclists.
Am i missing the point here, it can happen, These funds are for improving road safety not road improvements. How improved pedestrian safety with path upgrades and better bus stops will stop people killing themselves in cars, God only knows.
Suggestions. Traffic lights at the Arreton main road junction.
Traffic. lights at the Apse heath cross road instead of that stupid mini roundabout. There money spent, unless you want to buy two houses in Yarmouth. Two million is nothing
NO Traffic lights… they would cause more problems… stopping traffic, red light jumpers.. just put STOP signs at the connecting roads.. teach people how to drive and what a RED light means and what a STOP sign means…
Improve Apse Heath roundabout would be good. It is designed for conflict. Everyone just looks at each other or idiots think that they can keep going at speed.
Very true.
The Island have zero road safety, Whitely Bank is the same.
So the 5 things listed will come to 500k
Were will the rest of the cash be going?????
And why island roads again
Surly it should go out to tender
Island Roads are a complete waste of money
The layabouts are always sitting on their ar*es in
Yaverland Car Park or round the Boating lake in Ryde.
They need trackers in all their vehicles, then their
Invisible useless bosses would know where our money is going.
I have never known a Company with such poor output.
They all have tracker’s fitted from new. Plus there pda’s can be tracked as well.
So why are they sitting in Car Parks doing F All
for Hours.
How about making Great Preston Road a safe Road for everyone!
Does the District Steward for Ryde never drive down Great Preston Road?
The District Steward if there is one, should drive along Great Preston Road
and see what an unsafe road Great Preston Road is.
Vehicles park on pavements on 1 side of the Road and with vehicles parked on
the other side of the Road it’s an accident waiting to happen.
I think the Ryde District Steward needs to go to Specsavers,
or maybe he is related to the parking on Pavement offenders at no.90,
hence FCUK all gets done about blocking pedestrian walkways.
From all the comments it should be obvious to whoever is responsible for the upkeep of our roads that they are completely incompetent. So many roads are in a disgraceful state-this is what makes driving dangerous! The council say Island Roads are responsible and vice versa.Whoever it is,in my opinion, they should resign immediately.
Island Roads could not run a Bath.
If the funds are for safety improvements then perhaps some lighting would be nice. Whenever I drive that road at night I get blinded by others on main beam struggling to see where they are going.
Banning halogen headlights would be a major step forwards. Why fit them?
I think you mean led or hids.
More road closures, probably during holiday season, more island road workers stood around scratching heads and smoking illegal tobacco…
Scratching their ar*e’s more like
Fill in the bloody pot holes
Why does no authority on the Island care for public safety?
Along Great Preston Road Ryde for months now the residents at
No.90 Great Preston Road have been parking a Yellow,Vauxhall Corsa
Registration Plate HJ62ZPV on the pavement.
Where I come from Pavements are for people, not for vehicles.
Does the Island MP, Council and Island Roads not understand what
Pavements are for.
What would happen if a pedestrian walks into the Road because a car is blocking
the pavement and gets killed.
Would IW Council be liable for letting households park 24/7 On pavements
or would the owner of the yellow car be liable?
it not road improvements needed its driver improvements
Will stop my mobility scooter getting punctures hopefully
Island Roads will take a big slice of that money for doing piss poor job as normal