RESIDENTS believe county council improvements to the notorious A140 which has claimed so many lives do not go far enough.The county council has a series of improvements planned for the A140 in the coming year, including improving the junction at Brome and creating a turning lane at Stoke Ash crossroads if land can be bought from a local farmer.

RESIDENTS believe county council improvements to the notorious A140 which has claimed so many lives do not go far enough.

The county council has a series of improvements planned for the A140 in the coming year, including improving the junction at Brome and creating a turning lane at Stoke Ash crossroads if land can be bought from a local farmer.

A general 50mph limit from the near the county border in the Scole area to the junction with the A14 at Coddenham, unless lower limits are already in force, is also hoped for. The speed limit would initially be experimental and run for up to 18 months with the option of continuing if it proves a success.

Brian Lomax, traffic and safety engineer for Suffolk County Council, said: "Funding is limited, there is never enough money for the whole county and this route is like any other, you have to prioritise on safety, you can't do everything at once.

"Our concern is to make the route safer and we want to keep the traffic flowing. There are not the funds to dual, so our first concern is to make it safer and improve the quality of life for villagers and improve it for all the road users, not just cars.''

At the end of the financial year officers will also look at any accidents that have happened and look at possibly tackling those areas too.

There are also plans for a 30mph limit through Brockford, Little and Earl Stonham, with a 40mph buffer zone in all these villages.

Mike Cooper-Reade, chairwoman of Stonham Parva Parish Council said he would like a lot more work done on the A140, but what is being done is a start.

He said: "With the amount of money they get there is not much more that can be done, although there is lots of things that could be done, but without spending a lot of money you can not make much difference.

"A 30mph limit will ease the situation a bit for local people. We would like to be bypassed, but that is way off, if at all.

"The main junction that is still not safe is the A1120/A140. They have painted some road markings on there, which have improved things a bit, but we would like to have seen a roundabout put in there.''

Suffolk county councillors were presented with an annual progress report for transport across the county, during a meeting at county hall in Ipswich on Monday.

The report included details that officers had prepared a route management strategy for the A140 in Suffolk, in consultation with Mid Suffolk District Council and other organisations, with safety improvements particularly at junctions included in the strategy.