Installation of safety cameras on the A149 in West Norfolk

Installation of safety cameras on the A149 in West Norfolk

Work will begin next week to install average speed cameras on the A149 in West Norfolk.

From Monday 29 July, the Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership scheme, being implemented by Norfolk County Council, will see average speed cameras put in place on the route between the Knights Hill and Snettisham roundabouts.

To minimise disruption all the work will be taking place overnight between 8pm and 6am. The road will remain open at all times with traffic lights directing people through overnight lane closures which will be necessary to allow the work to be carried out safely. The work is expected to take up to three weeks to complete.

Chair of the Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership, Assistant Chief Constable Simon Megicks, welcomed the news, saying: “We have continuously been in support of road safety improvements on the A149 between Castle Rising and Snettisham.

“Speeding is one of the ‘fatal four' offences which makes you more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a collision alongside drink/ drug driving, driving whilst using a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt. Average speed cameras have been proven to reduce speeding and help to reinforce understanding around speed limits, set at the maximum safe speed to travel on a particular stretch of road.

“In 2016, the decision to fund and proceed with this scheme was agreed by the Safety Camera Partnership Board and it is pleasing to see this finally coming to fruition.”

Cllr Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure & Transport, said: “This scheme is expected to improve safety on the stretch of the A149 where there have been 50 personal injury accidents over the past six years, of which three were fatalities and 13 involved serious injuries.

“We know this is a key route so we will be working overnight to minimise any disruption. We would ask that people bear with us while we carry out this important safety improvement work.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Lorne Green said: “As Norfolk’s PCC, I’m committed to making the county’s roads safer for all who use them. I know this particular road extremely well, having travelled it over a number of years. I’ve long held the view, shared by many and supported by the figures around collisions, that action is needed to improve its safety.

“The Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership approved the speed cameras back in 2016. I’m pleased that the partnership’s proposals are finally being actioned and work to install the cameras is now getting underway.”

The A149 runs through a number of county council divisions. Cllr Andrew Jamieson, member for the North Coast division, said: “I’m sure people living on or near the A149 will welcome this safety scheme on the route they travel daily. Local residents are clear that a range of safety improvements are needed so we have been looking closely at a number of schemes in addition to the safety cameras.

“This work will soon see improvements to signs and road markings at the Lamsey Lane junction, and we would like to see a lower speed limit which is why we’re currently consulting on a reduction from 60 to 50mph on two stretches of the road. Through this consultation we have also heard loud and clear that some proposed junction closures aren’t the right thing to do, so we won’t be going forward with those measures, but we will continue to look for future improvements on this vital route.”

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