Letter sent via email:
Karl Melville
Director Highways and Transport
Cumberland Council
Dear Karl
Following the traffic chaos witnessed today (8th April) on the A597 and adjoining roads in Workington, I would like to ask for a full explanation for the thinking behind the approach taken. Surely, a more practical solution would have been to keep part of the road open, at least through the day, making use of traffic lights.
As you know, these overdue works were reported months ago, yet it was only last week after repeated complaints that Cumberland Council finally decided that this matter was sufficiently serious to merit its attention. This mkaes the statement below from the Temporary Traffic Regulation Order Team at best misleading, at worst downright disingenuous.
"An urgent temporary road closure has been put in place to allow Cumberland COuncil to carry out urgent carriageway repair works that need to be carried out without delay."
If this is Cumberland Council acting "without delay" on an "urgent" matter, I can see why our roads are in such a shocking state. Given the time that has elapsed between this matter being reported, and Cumberland Council deciding to act, at the very least I would have expected the council to have worked out a traffic management scheme that minimises disruption to my constituents. Instead, this poorly-planned and reactive aproach has caused traffic gridlock.
This is affecting residents on the Northside estate who have complained that they have not been adequatly informed about the work. It is causing considerable congestion on the north side of the river, and we are seeing delays of up to an hour for what typically should be a five minute drive.
How these works are programmed is a choice, and it looks like these decisions have been very poorly thought-out, if at all. Cumberland Council does not appear to be familiar with the proverb; "A stitch in time saves nine." If these roads were maintainted properly in the first place, and action taken sooner, this level of disruption could have been avoided.
I look forward to your comments.
Yours sincerely
Mark Jenkinson MP
