A FORMER Government advisor on road safety has said some Carlisle residents feel “left out” after not being consulted on the installation of new traffic lights in Upperby.

Chris Wills, who lives on St Ninian’s Road close to the new traffic management scheme currently under construction on Upperby Road and Brisco Road, criticised Cumbria County Council for what he says he and a number of other residents feel is a disappointing lack of communication on the plans.

Mr Wills, recently retired, worked “for and on behalf of” Cumbria County Council for more than 12 years on road safety issues, and has also worked as a Government advisor and a Law Society advisor on road safety and sustainable travel.

The scheme involves the installation of four-way traffic lights at the junction of Upperby Road and Brisco Road, to help the road cope with an the increase in traffic caused by the opening of Newman Road at its new site close by.

But Mr Wills, who also condemned the design of the scheme as “poor”, said a number of residents in the area have been left upset and angered at the "lack of engagement" from the county council on the scheme.

“It's a poor scheme, it's been appallingly badly handled,” he said.

“It's been rushed through, it's upset everybody.”

Mr Wills said he and a great many of the residents in the area are “smarting” from the lack of consultation and communication from the county council on the scheme.

“The idea that something could be put in that will affect your everyday life, for a large number of people in the community here, without any consultation whatsoever – we just feel left out.

“We're all smarting, because we could have given advice about local conditions which would have fed into the scheme.”

He said the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had been used as an ”excuse” for a consultation not being carried out on the scheme, which he believed to be unreasonable.

“I think all of us in the area here have been particularly annoyed that the pandemic has been used as an excuse for the lack of consultation, because it would have taken very little to have put a letter in good time to all of the residents that would have been affected, with a basic plan of what was intended.

“Instead, only because we kicked up a fuss, we got a last-minute visit from an officer from Cumbria County Council.”

Mr Wills acknowledged that the County Council has in recent weeks responded to residents on the some of the concerns raised about the scheme.

He also acknowledged that the County Council was not legally required to carry out a consultation with residents on a scheme of this size.

However, Mr Wills said the process would have been a courtesy to those set to be affected by the scheme, and would have provided the council with the opportunity to gather information that could have improved its design.

“We could have given the county information to inform and improve the scheme,” he said.

Drawing on his professional knowledge, Mr Wills said the scheme could have been much improved with the addition of anti-skid surfaces around the staggered junction, as well as the installation of speed cameras in the area – speeding being a significant problem in his experience.

“Yes, it would have cost more money, but it would have made it a much better quality scheme,” Mr Wills said.

“We've got some significant road safety issues on all the approaches to the staggered crossroads which are going to have this new traffic light scheme.

“None of them have been taken into account.

“We could be left with a scheme which actually doesn't address some of the major problems that we've got in the area.”

Mr Wills explained that in his experience, speeding was common in the area, both breaking the speed limit itself and going too fast for the conditions, particularly when it has recently rained.

He said that during periods of rain, the junction “often floods”, though as far as he is aware this has not been taken into account when designing the scheme.

“It's well-known in the area,” Mr Wills said, adding that public consultation would have highlighted this and other issues to the council.

“On Upperby and Brisco Road, there's a real speeding problem,” Mr Wills said.

“The county council have acknowledged this by putting in a speed indication device.

“When the traffic light signals go in, what they should have on the approach on Upperby and Brisco Road is a high friction surface - an anti-skid surface.

“That's good design and standard practice.”

He explained that at present, when conditions are poor, drivers frequently find themselves fighting to remain in control when approaching the junction.

“What happens is that drivers will see the lights change approaching at speed, they'll lock up on a wet surface, even with anti-lock brakes,” he said.

“And if there's traffic moving ahead of them, or worse still pedestrians or cyclists, there could be a catastrophic outcome, as the driver is going to skid.”

Mr Wills added that a “last minute” protest from residents led to a recent alteration to the scheme, which was also set to introduce double yellow lines to parts of the area.

“If we hadn't discovered the plans at the last minute, and protested, there would have been extended double yellow lines which would have displaced the parking of around 40-plus vehicles.

“There's a parking problem in the area. I know that's not unique to towns, and not unique to Carlisle.

“But there's a real parking problem in the area, and that would have significantly worsened that problem.”

Mr Wills also said he was concerned about the setup of the pedestrian crossings regarding those who are visually impaired.

“We understand there's going to be the audible bleep in the traffic signals for pedestrians crossing,” he said.

“I'm not sure if that doesn't breach guidelines, because they're so close.

“From a safety point of view, if you're visually impaired in any way, you could be hearing the sound to tell you to cross, coming from the wrong crossing point.

“That could be disastrous.”

A spokeswoman for Cumbria County Council said that the decision to put in place traffic lights at the junction of Brisco Road, Upperby Road, St Ninians Road and Lamb Street was made "several months ago", when the new siting of Newman School was approved by Carlisle City Council.

"The works form part of a number of highway improvements being undertaken as a result of the new School that is being built nearby on Scalegate Road and concerns being raised about the junction," the spokeswoman said.

“The work at this location is aimed at improving pedestrian safety at the junction and providing a safer means of access to and from the new school.

"The improvements will also improve the safety of the junction for motorists."

The spokesman added that the speed of motorists on the approach to the junction has been a concerns for residents for a number of years.

"Like most projects involving changes to the highway the design has been reviewed by an independent road safety auditor and is being installed under the supervision of the County Council, by one of the County Council framework contractors."

The spokeswoman said that the county council's approach to engaging with nearby residents has been in line with other schemes of a similar size.

“Our consultation on this scheme has been similar to other schemes of this size with letter drops to residents, advance warning signs for motorists and information to the general public also being posted on social media.

"Local residents with whom we have spoken to have been, in the main, very understanding and accommodating and we remain committed to supporting our residents, particularly if they want to discuss their concerns with us, as this often leads to some changes being made, as is the case with these works."

The designs have been reviewed by an independent road safety auditor on behalf of the county council.

The works are due to be completed "as planned" by the end of August.

The spokeswoman added: “We would like to thank the public for their patience and co-operation, and again apologise for any inconvenience caused whilst we’re working in the area.”