Resident raises concerns over 40mph speed limit on stretch of busy Sunderland road

Peter White, 66, wants the speed limit on the stretch of Durham Road from the A690 Doxford roundabout to West Park, Herrington, to be reduced to 30mph on the full stretch of the road.

Mr White, who lives on West Park, says he has become increasingly concerned by the number of crashes taking place on the busy stretch of road and on the roundabout itself over the last few years.

It comes after a crash involving a HGV on the A690 Durham Road, Sunderland, which wrote off Mr White’s parked car.

Northumbria Police confirmed that a HGV collided with a parked car and hit a tree at 9.45am on March 21, 2020.

Nobody was injured and police have confirmed that nothing suggests the crash was caused as a result of speeding.

However Mr White has been left shaken by the incident and says he thinks the speed limit should be lowered.

Mr White has written to Sunderland City Council to call on the authority to reduce the limit.

He said: “I want to see the speed limit on this stretch of Durham Road reduced to 30mph as it is a residential area and an area where there is a public park.

"People need to cross the road from housing areas to the park and the road is still fast at 40mph, making it difficult and dangerous.

"The speed limit has been reduced in other areas and I think it should be reduced here.”

He added: “I am also concerned about the A690 Doxford roundabout as it is one of the busiest on the A19.”

Sunderland City Council confirmed that the current speed limit on the stretch of road is 40mph and said that work is ongoing to provide ‘additional capacity’ on the Doxford roundabout and A690/A19 junction.

A council spokeswoman said: “Over the last three years there have been three personal injury accidents on this section of the A690, however Northumbria police did not consider that speed was a contributory factor in these collisions.

“The Doxford roundabout and the A690/A19 junction is currently undergoing a series of improvements, intended to provide additional capacity for many years to come.”

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