Public consultation to shape road safety improvements along the A5004 ‘Long Hill’, Buxton to Whaley Bridge

Local residents are invited to share their opinions about proposals to improve road safety along the 7½ mile stretch of the A5004 between Buxton and Whaley Bridge as part of a public consultation exercise.

Funding for the proposals, worth around £2.5 million, has come from the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund to improve safety along the 50 most dangerous roads in the country.

To support the online public consultation, 2 drop-in sessions will be held at venues in Buxton and Whaley Bridge, with highways and road safety staff available to answer questions on:

• Tuesday 6 December 2022 from 2:30pm to 8:30pm at the Pump Room, The Crescent, Buxton, SK17 6BH
• Thursday 15 December 2022 from 2:30pm to 8:30pm at the Mechanics Institute, 27 Market Street, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7AA

Feedback and comments can be shared by completing the online questionnaire.  

Subject to feedback from the public consultation about the proposals, some minor preparatory works might be carried out while the Railtrack works to replace the bridge over the A5004 are underway, including clearing overhanging vegetation, some road lining and installing new safety fencing. Any works would be carried out under temporary traffic light controls and would be around 3 miles away from Railtrack’s bridge works.

Depending on the outcome of the consultation, the £2.5 million safety proposals under consideration for the A5004 include:

• installing average speed cameras along the sections of the route with 50mph and 40mph speed limits between Buxton and Whaley Bridge to tackle inappropriate speeding and reduce accidents
• improving the A5004 junction with the A53 in Buxton
• hatching, white lining and rumble strips along the edge of the road to alert drivers to hazards and to prevent people driving off the road
• improving visibility around bends and at junctions by removing bushes or lowering walls
• improving drainage to reduce surface water at key points along the route
• installing crash barriers on major bends with motorcycle protection to prevent riders sliding underneath the barrier
• new pedestrian crossing points on the outskirts of Whaley Bridge to make it safer to walk into the town centre with dropped kerbs and tactile paving slabs to help vulnerable users
• cycling improvements between Buxton and Whaley Bridge to link the area to the county’s cycle network
• better signing, and lining to highlight hazards like bends, footpath crossing points and junctions

The public consultation will close on Sunday 15 January 2023.