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

  • IRF Launches New Website for World Road Statistics
    April 6, 2017
    The International Road Federation Geneva Programme Centre (IRF Geneva) has been publishing the IRF World Road Statistics (WRS), the most complete and authoritative source of data for the international road, traffic and inland transport sectors for over 50 years. For 2017, IRF Geneva is pleased to announce the launch of a new website (www.worldroadstatistics.org) dedicated to the World Road Statistics. This new website provides all the information about the WRS including the methodology; contents of sections
  • Lighter ESCO lip system offer 19% more useable wear metal
    January 6, 2017
    Wear parts specialist ESCO is using Bauma to show its new Nemisys lip system which has been engineered to deliver a lighter weight lip better sized and suited to modern buckets. The lip’s streamlined profile optimises production, says ESCO, and machine working cycles. A clever new hammerless tooth and shroud system helps reduce maintenance costs through improved reliability, faster and safer replacement, and improved lip coverage. The slim lip design and matching tooth system require 10% less force to penet
  • Lighter ESCO lip system offer 19% more useable wear metal
    February 15, 2013
    Wear parts specialist ESCO is using Bauma to show its new Nemisys lip system which has been engineered to deliver a lighter weight lip better sized and suited to modern buckets. The lip’s streamlined profile optimises production, says ESCO, and machine working cycles. A clever new hammerless tooth and shroud system helps reduce maintenance costs through improved reliability, faster and safer replacement, and improved lip coverage. The slim lip design and matching tooth system require 10% less force to penet
  • Trees delivering cleaner cities with less pollution?
    November 30, 2016
    Research carried out jointly by scientists from EarthSense Systems and the University of Leicester shows the beneficial effect of urban trees on helping lower air pollution. The study shows a direct link between air pollution and green infrastructure, with trees and grass cover contributing to a reduction in concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The newly published research shows that the aerodynamic dispersive effect of trees results in a 9.0 percent reduction in PM2.5 concentrations. A decrea