Bollards to stop dangerous parking on Warwick Road near Stratford’s Fisherman’s car park
A £1.32 MILLION project will see safety improvements made along the Warwick Road, including new bollards to prevent dangerous parking on the verges by Fisherman’s car park.
There will also be junction improvements, reductions to the speed limit and an off-road cycle lane linking Stratford to a business park.
Funding for the work, which covers the A439 between the gyratory in Stratford close to the roundabout with the A46, was announced before the local elections. However, further details about the scheme were kept under wraps until the electorate had voted.
Warwickshire County Council, which put together the successful funding bid to the Department for Transport, has now revealed further information about the scheme, although the finer details are still being drawn up.
One of the key components of the project will see a right turn lane created on the Warwick Road by Ingon Lane – the site of a number of recent accidents. Road markings will create a right turn area for vehicles travelling towards Stratford while the speed limit will be reduced to 40mph.
That same new speed limit would also apply along the Warwick Road from the Fisherman’s car park area through to Ryon Hill Business Park.
From Fisherman’s car park into Stratford the speed limit would be 30mph – that stretch of road would also get added streetlighting. New bollards and earth bunds would be installed to prevent overspill parking on the Warwick Road when Fisherman’s car park is full – something which is seen as a ‘serious safety concern during warmer months’ and has required Warwickshire Police to patrol the area and take action against drivers.
The planned off-road cycle path would stretch from Stratford to the business park, which is one of NFU Mutual’s major employment sites.
Elsewhere there would be a turn lane for the Welcombe Golf Club and junction improvements at the other end of the Warwick Road by the Mercedes garage.
There are also plans for pedestrian crossings points and upgraded signs and road markings across the entire route as well as vegetation clearance and maintenance.
The county council’s engineering team’s bid to the DfT stated: ‘The A439 Warwick Road has several intersections which has resulted in a number of personal injury collisions in the past five years. This project is expected to prevent 16 fatal and serious injuries over the 20 year appraisal period, as well as preventing 129 slight injuries as a result of personal injury collisions along the route.’
Cllr Tim Sinclair (Con, Stratford North) said: “It’s great to see that the scope of the work includes safety works at key points on the road to reduce injuries and fatalities, further activity outside the Fisherman’s car park to prevent dangerous parking in the summer, a reduction in the speed limit closest to the residential areas, and investment in cycling and walking infrastructure, connecting the town with houses and businesses. These are all things I've been asking for on behalf of residents for some time.
“My understanding is that the funding has been independently assessed to ensure it’s sufficient, so this scheme should bring real, long-term improvements to this crucial part of our highways infrastructure.
“I’m really pleased.”
