Silent Sunderland - traffic drops by more than 60% on key routes as drivers praised for staying at home

Data from the city's highways network is showing falls in traffic on the Wearmouth Bridge and along St Mary's Boulevard. Bridge traffic had already been dropping before Monday 23 March when the Government urged people to stay at home wherever possible.

For both north and south Wearmouth Bridge crossings, there was a daily average of 25,566 vehicles in the week before the Government advice.

From Monday March 30, the first full working week of Stay at Home advice, bridge traffic was down nearly two-thirds to a daily average of 9,675. This is a percentage drop of 62% compared to before the Government advice.

A similar fall has been recorded on St Mary's Boulevard.

Sunderland City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Councillor Amy Wilson said: "The figures show that people across Sunderland are taking heed of the Government advice to stay at home, work from home wherever possible, and avoid any unnecessary social contact and travel.

"If we are all travelling less and having less social contact, we are helping the NHS and helping to save lives.

"As we look to the next few weeks, please remember to heed the advice and avoid travel wherever possible."

The figures have been compiled from the city's traffic camera network and other monitoring. They are in line with Government figures outlining how nationally transport use and traffic has fallen by more than 60%.

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