Traffic survey reveals hotspots

Local councils are looking for ways to fight congestion

A transport survey of congestion hotspots in the East Midlands has identified the worst traffic snarl-ups in the region.

The most extensive delays are seen on the route from Eastwood to Nottingham along the A610, where journey times more than doubled during peak hours.

Other traffic hotspots include the A6 North near Alvaston in Derby and the A607 Melton Road and the A426 in Blaby.

Councillors will look at the results and decide what action to take.

The £400,000 survey was funded by the Department of Transport and used data from 180 motorists who were fitted with satellite tracking devices.

Derby, Leicester and Nottingham all experience similar levels of peak time congestion Nicholas Rushton, Leicestershire County Council

Nottingham councillor Brian Parbutt said the survey could lead to possible congestion charging - but the city's preferred option is still a tax on workplace parking spaces.

But Leicestershire County Councillor Nick Rushton said it does not automatically mean they will bring in congestion charging.

The survey found the worst-affected areas were "radial routes running in and out of the three main cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby, particularly on city ring roads".

'Peak time'

The 4.5-mile journey into Nottingham, from Ruddington on the A60 from the south, takes 8.5 minutes longer during the morning peak hour than it would when the roads are clear.

Nicholas Rushton, cabinet member for transport at Leicestershire County Council, said: "It importantly shows that Derby, Leicester and Nottingham all experience similar levels of peak time congestion."

The areas covered by the survey included Greater Nottingham, Leicester City, Derby City, the towns of Belper, Heanor, Ripley, Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre in Derbyshire and Ashby de la Zouch, Coalville, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Hinckley in Leicestershire.