Road users in Cumbria are being warned to expect heavy traffic as three major events take place this weekend.
Cumbria Police and National Highways have said there is likely to be congestion and advised drivers to plan extra time for their journeys.
Thousands of motorcyclists from all over the country will be heading to Barrow today (Saturday 8 June) for ‘Dave Day’ – a charity fund-raising event celebrating the life of ‘Hairy Bikers’ TV chef Dave Myers who was born in the town and died earlier this year.
National Highways, which operates the A590 between Barrow and the M6, is advising road users to expect routes into the town to be busy throughout the weekend and is urging drivers to ‘Think Bike’ and exercise extra vigilance and care for motorcyclists – especially at junctions.
As many as 15,000 motorcyclists could be heading for Barrow over the weekend so key routes around junction 36 of the M6 and the A590 itself are likely to unusually busy even for a summer weekend.
National Highways is asking other road users to Think Bike and exercise a bit of extra caution and consideration around motorcyclists when they are out and about on the network.
Other events such as the Great North Swim at Windermere over the whole weekend starting on Friday (7 June), Cumbria VAG Show and Shine car festival at the Westmorland Show Ground on Saturday and Sunday (8 and 9 June) and a farming auction at Café Ambio on Saturday will all mean extra traffic along the A590 and or around junction 36 of the M6 throughout the weekend.
Further north in the county, the annual Appleby Horse Fair is taking place during the weekend along the A66 near Penrith off junction 40 of the M6 and the Cumberland Show is being held along the A69 at Warwick Bridge just off junction 43 of the M6 at Carlisle on Saturday.
National Highways has been working closely with Cumbria Police and Westmorland and Furness Council to ensure the event in Barrow goes safely and smoothly. National Highways’ National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) in Birmingham and regional operations centres across the country will be monitoring traffic throughout the weekend and setting electronic signs to give driver and rider advice and ask road users to Look Out for Bikes.
The M6 around junction 36 and the A590 into Barrow are likely to be extremely busy with motorcyclist traffic particularly throughout Saturday afternoon.
Westmorland and Furness Council is working to ensure the events in Barrow run smoothly, issuing a welcome, as well as advice, to next week’s two-wheeled visitors. Visit Barrow has produced a guide to the day’s events in the town including a timetable and list of fuel stations for bikers to top up at.
National Highways says "it will probably be the first really busy weekend of the summer on the county’s roads and while its regional control centre and on road traffic officers will be working around the clock to keep everyone on the move there is plenty drivers can do to help themselves - like planning journeys before setting out and carrying out some basic vehicle checks."
Cumbria Police are also advising people to plan journeys in advance this weekend as the county welcomes visitors to events across Cumbria,
Cumbria Police said "We are prepared for one of the busiest weekends of the year with a number of events taking place including The Great North Swim, Appleby Horse Fair and a day of celebration for the life of Hairy Biker, Dave Myers."
"There will be an increased visible policing presence across the county to keep people safe."
"To assist with the increased demand on our road network as part of the Dave Day celebrations, we are being supported by police motorcyclists from Lancashire Police and Northumbria Police."
"You may also see Cheshire Police cars in our area, these vehicles are being driven by Cumbrian officers as we respond to additional demand."
The advice if your heading out this weekend is to plan your journeys and allow for extra time due to the anticipated extra volume of vehicles on our roads this weekend.
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