Lancaster civic group petitions county council for study into possibility of new bridge over River Lune

Lancaster Vision are asking the county council to look at the idea of building a new bridge across the River Lune.

We reported last month how Lancaster Vision had outlined its idea for a new bridge to be built to help with traffic flow around the one-way system and to St George's Quay.

Their idea came as part of the group's comments on Lancashire County Council’s emerging City Centre Movement Strategy, which is looking at future options for traffic in Lancaster city centre.

And they are now calling on the council to carry out a feasibility study into the idea.

Lancaster Vision was established in 2012 as a sub-group of Lancaster Civic Society by members who had identified, as a result of concerns over the future of the castle, the need for an organisation to help secure a better future for the city and its surrounding.

The group believes that while Lancashire County Council’s emerging City Centre Movement Strategy will partly address the traffic issues suffered by the city, a more ambitious approach is needed.

And in particular they believe that there is a case for the construction of a new road bridge from the western end of New Quay Road to Ovangle Road on the north bank to provide access to Morecambe and the M6.

Lancaster Vision chairman James Wilkie said: "We believe that the existing proposals will only partly address the traffic issues suffered by the City and we took the view that a more ambitious approach is required.

"Particularly we believed that there is a case for the construction of a new road bridge from the Western End of New Quay Road to Ovangle Road on the north bank to provide access to Morecambe and the M6."

The group created a survey to test the feelings of the public in the Lancaster area.

And they received hundreds of responses agreeing with their summation of the current situation, stating their feelings, and voicing their opinions, the vast majority of whom – 85 per cent - support the idea.

Positive responses have been submitted by large numbers of individuals, organisations, councillors, and candidates in the recent local elections.

Lancaster Vision thinks that this level of public support warrants Lancashire County Council undertaking a feasibility study to investigate the practicability of the project and so has now set up a petition calling upon the county council to set up such a study.

Anyone in agreement with this request is urged to sign the petition here.To learn more of Lancaster Vision’s reasons for requesting this feasibility study, go online here.