Representation by Alice Ferson
- Date submitted
- 4 September 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to the A66 proposal. This project is to benefit HGV traffic. Given the Government objective of shifting freight to rail as outlined in the National Infastructure Report - Better Delivery- the development of this road to assist freight is behind the curve and would seem to be in direct breach of other government policies and the Government Climate budget. As this upgrade is to benefit freight, a 70mph speed limit is unnecessary as freight is limited to 60mph. NH say there is no rail alternative on this route but that is clearly incorrect. The Settle- Carlisle has now received approved to transport commercial goods and is already used by companies such as British Gypsum. An upgrade to this line, which connects into both the East and West coast mainline is an alternative and has not been properly investigated in the rush to advance the argument for this road. Given the climate emergency companies are already ahead of Government in addressing their reliance in HGV’s and many companies such as British Gypsum has internal polices in which they mandate the reduction of reliance on road. The argument that safety will be improved by a dual carriageway should be analysed. Reducing the speed limit in accident hot spots or the introduction of average speed cameras would be more effective, cheaper and produce less GHG than the current plan and given the climate emergency and current state of the countries finances these options must be investigated. The best example of this is the Route to the north of Kirkby Thore which appears to account for a third of the cost for the entire route. Safety is given as a reason due to fatal accidents. No consideration is given to the fact these happened outside the average speed camera section. Requests for signage /extension of the average speed camera range and barriers have been ignored. Any of these would have improved safety and it beyond comprehension why these measures have not been improved or considered as alternatives. The main problem with the A66 is the build up at Penrith. Dualling the entire road is a sledgehammer to crack a nut and 2 billion and rising will be spent without the desired effect whilst ignoring the CO2 emmissions this route will contribute to the climate emergency and draining money from the taxpayer when it is already known the economic gain will never match the cost. More economic and less damaging solutions must be found.