Skip to main content

New route slashes HGV Carlisle city centre through traffic by over third

The number of Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling through Carlisle’s city centre is estimated to have been reduced by more than a third since the new multi-million euro Carlisle Northern Development Route opened in February 2012.
August 17, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The number of Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling through Carlisle’s city centre is estimated to have been reduced by more than a third since the new multi-million euro Carlisle Northern Development Route opened in February 2012.

Information from a network of 20 permanent and temporary traffic counters around the city showing ‘before and after’ CNDR road usage is said to be starting to build a more meaningful picture of the impact the new road has had on Carlisle.

Detailed information from the traffic counters is now available via an interactive pin map on Cumbria County Council’s (CCC) website at %$Linker: External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.cumbria.gov.uk/cndr cumbria false http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/cndr false false%>
It shows a marked reduction in both cars and HGVs along the main north to south arterial route through the city – the A7 and A595 – as an average of more than 10,000 vehicles a day use the new 8.25km/5.13-mile road.

Carlisle’s busiest stretch of road, the A595 at Castle Way, has shown a 16% reduction in all vehicles from 38,083 a day before the opening of CNDR to 32,050 afterwards (with a 41% reduction in HGVs from 6,860 to 4,060). Other city centre hotspots have shown similar reductions, with the A7 at Stanwix Bank showing a 16% reduction in all vehicles and a 32% reduction in HGVs.

CNDR is said by CCC to have quickly become a key route to travel between the south west of the city and the industrial areas to the north - a big factor for employers looking to develop good communications channels in areas ripe for commercial development.

As expected, there are higher levels of traffic on certain radial routes that have direct links to the CNDR. CCC says it has already set aside additional capital funding to counter this effect and also improve links to CNDR for pedestrians and cyclists along these radial routes.

A spokesperson for CCC warned that as road usage data can be skewed by a number of unrelated external factors, from the weather and the economy to what’s on telly, these new CNDR related figures need to be treated with an element of caution. Traffic engineers will carry out a more detailed traffic movement study later this year, which will also assess average journey times.

Councillor Tony Markley, Cumbria County Council's Cabinet member responsible for highways and economy, said: "Carlisle has embraced its new major road. Both commuters and industry in North Cumbria have quickly adjusted their travelling habits to get the full benefits from CNDR. This project has been a huge investment for the county council and one which will reap rewards for many years to come in terms of economic and environmental payback.”

Related Content

  • Telestack adds HF520 to material handling equipment
    January 24, 2014
    Mobile bulk material handling equipment manufacturer, Telestack, which says it has sold over 140 machines into the North American market, offers three machines new to that market. These include the world launch of the latest model in its tracked mobile hopper feeder range, the HF520, which has been developed in response to feedback from dealers and customers and can be used in a multitude of applications from reclaiming in the quarry, mine and port to loading barges on inland river networks.
  • Telestack adds HF520 to material handling equipment
    January 6, 2017
    Mobile bulk material handling equipment manufacturer, Telestack, which says it has sold over 140 machines into the North American market, offers three machines new to that market. These include the world launch of the latest model in its tracked mobile hopper feeder range, the HF520, which has been developed in response to feedback from dealers and customers and can be used in a multitude of applications from reclaiming in the quarry, mine and port to loading barges on inland river networks.
  • Australian capital Canberra looks to upgrade street lighting
    September 12, 2016
    The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government said it is seeking proposals for the management of Canberra city’s 79,000 streetlights to improve cost and energy efficiencies.
  • Paul Verrico of Eversheds will be headline speaker at ERIC 2016
    August 9, 2016
    Despite Europe being a global leader in road safety, around 25,000 road users (working, walking, driving or riding a bicycle) did not make it home in 2015 and more than 200,000 others sustained life-changing or serious injuries. Leading Safety Lawyer Paul Verrico, a Partner of European law firm Eversheds will present the ERICLeeds16 ROAD SAFETY DEBATE. He will argue that organisations in the UK face ever increasing sanctions through new sentencing guidelines for health and safety and corporate manslaugh