"The corridors of land alongside... roads are a vital part of the landscape. They are, after all, the first thing you see as you enter it - the shop window which sets the tone for the rest of the countryside itself."  from 'The Cluttered Countryside' report by CPRE 1996


Cumbria has a network of attractive rural roads, which are coming under pressure from increased traffic volumes and commercial activities, resulting in the loss of historic features, more white lines, and frequent often large signs. All this is out of character with the surrounding landscape.

The Rural Road Character project is promoting good practice in rural road design and maintenance, working in partnership with those whose job it is to maintain the transport infrastructure and others. The project aims to ensure that our roads fit sympathetically into their surroundings, whilst being friendly to all road users, however we choose to travel, be it on foot, by bike, horse, motorcycle, car or public transport

The project seeks to promote ideas such as psychological traffic calming, which involves making drivers feel less certain, so that they drive more carefully. Measures such as removing the white centre line and reducing sight lines with planting are more in keeping with rural road character and can be very effective in reducing accidents.

Find out more
Download a summary of the report, prepared for Friends of the Lake District, by Capita, that instigated this project Roads at Risk - Saving the Character of Country Road (517KB) download here or see key findings from this research.