Summary
- Where: Saltmarsh Road junction with the Itchen Bridge.
- What: Safety measures for cyclists and motorists.
- Why: The junction of Saltmarsh Road and the Itchen Bridge has been identified through an independent assessment by the Road Safety Foundation on behalf of the Department for Transport for pro-active intervention to reduce the risk of injury accidents.
Latest News
October 2023
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About the scheme
The junction of Saltmarsh Road with the Itchen Bridge has had previous interventions for removing driver / cycle conflict which has been a known issue for several years. Measures delivered in 2013 to replace a roundabout with signals and then with a ’Dutch style’ cycle facility. In 2017 small measures were added under the annual road safety programme to provide cyclists with early release signals and cycle activated roadside signage alerting drivers to the presence of cyclists at the junction. Unfortunately, this junction remains one of the cluster sites for injury accidents especially for cyclists.
Southampton City Council have secured £975k of funding through the third round of the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund. Saltmarsh Road is one of 27 sites across the UK benefiting from the Safer Road Fund making safety improvements for all road users. The programme will reduce the risk of collisions which will improve journey time reliability, reducing congestion, journey times and emissions.
The allocation of this funding has been based on data independently surveyed and provided by the Road Safety Foundation on behalf of the Department for Transport. It is a pro-active approach meaning measures are not just based on existing injury accident records but also risk of injury accident as assessed by the Safer Roads Fund. The council was shortlisted for funding in early autumn 2022 and worked with the Road Safety Foundation to submit a bid of measures which meet funding criteria and address known issues in the Itchen Bridge corridor. The funding was allocated in April and since this time we have been working on designs for the specified mitigation measures.
Related Safer Roads Fund measures are also being implemented on Portsmouth Road.
In addition, maintenance works to the Itchen Bridge are also being planned alongside the works at Saltmarsh Road to minimise disruption.