Peaks Parkway

The Peaks Parkway is part of the northern end of the A16 road, in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. It was conceived in the 1970s and follows part of the trackbed of the former East Lincolnshire Railway between Grimsby and Louth.

Following on from public pressure, during 2014 North East Lincolnshire Council agreed to increase the speed limit on Peaks Parkway to 40 mph from the 30 mph previously in force, despite Safer Roads Humberside advising the council to keep the 30 mph in force. Safer Roads Humberside had been accused of using Peaks Parkway as a cash cow for funding, using SPECS average speed cameras as a revenue generator. Anyone unfamiliar with Peaks Parkway at first glance wouldn't imagine a major road of this standard would have a low speed limit of 30 mph. For example, pedestrians are prohibited from using Peaks Parkway.

When British Rail could no longer justify the maintenance of the Louth line, Grimsby Borough Council agreed to research the route as a major traffic artery into and through the town centre. Engineering Consultants were appointed and quickly confirmed the route would have strategic significance for the town and provide a link from the south to the A180 which was being constructed to the north of the urban area. Unusually the route would not require the demolition of any property. This plan was well received by the Councillors who had previously approved a traffic plan for the area which proposed the construction of a ring road and a road running alongside the route of the former railway into the town centre (Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick Report 1972). The route alongside the railway would have required the demolition of 480 properties but was justified on the benefits that the scheme would bring to the residents of the town as a whole through improved communication links. The Councillors were keen to support a road which could be built entirely within former railway land along the majority of its route and not require the demolition of any property.

A group of railway enthusiasts had obtained an option from British Rail to reactivate the line as a private public railway between Grimsby and Louth. This option was granted prior to the publication of the road proposals. However, the railway supporters faced an impossible task in raising sufficient funds to replace the many tonnes of ballast that had been sold off by British Rail upon the closure of the line as a working entity and eventually conceded that their plan would not materialise. The group went on to form the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway on a smaller section of the trackbed south of Grimsby.

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