York Civic Trust says city centre roads need 'reconfiguring'

City centre roads will also need to be 'reconfigured' to discourage through traffic if congestion is to be tackled, the organisation says.

The Trust, which in February this year released its own detailed transport strategy for York, said it welcomed the principle of upgrading the ring road.

But when improvements were made at Poppleton Bar, traffic levels there increased by a fifth, it points put. "There was no traffic reduction further into the city centre."

City of York Council this week submitted plans for a £65 million upgrade of the congested A1267 outer ring road.

How an upgraded roundabout on the A1237 might look (Image: Council/ planning)

The upgrade, which would include improvements to five roundabouts and dualling of single-carriageway sections of the road in both direction from the A19 Shipton Road to Little Hopgrove, is aimed at reducing congestion, moving car journeys out of the city centre and improving active travel facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposals, which the council, says have been produced following a public consultation in 2020, will also see more pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, with more than 6km added to York’s walking and cycling network.

Responding to the council plans, Civic Trust chief executive Andrew Morrison said: "We welcome the principle of upgrading the congested outer ring road.

"But we are very conscious that, when the first improvement was made at Poppleton Bar, traffic levels increased by a fifth, but there was no reduction in traffic further into the city centre.

York Civic Trust chief executive Andrew Morrison (Image: Supplied)

"The council rightly argues that the aim is to reduce congestion, move car journeys out of the city centre and improve active travel facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. But car (and lorry) journeys will not move out of the city centre without active steps being taken to encourage them to do so.

"As we said in our Transport Strategy for York, the council now needs urgently to set out how it will reconfigure the road network to ensure that cross-city and longer distance traffic uses the outer ring road, by making through movements less attractive.

"It will be essential for these measures to be in place by the time that the outer ring road is upgraded. If the council fails to do so, the extra capacity provided will simply fill up with longer distance journeys around York."

Under the council plans, in addition to dualling, five roundabouts - at Clifton Moor, Wigginton Road, Haxby Road, Strensall Road and Monks Cross - would be upgraded to the same standard as the Wetherby Road roundabout at the junction of the A1237 and B1224 Wetherby Road.

The council plans would include improved crossings for pedestrians and cyclists (Image: City of York Council)

Council leader Keith Aspden said the proposed upgrades to the ring road would 'cut congestion, improve local air quality and offer more active travel opportunities'.

If planning permission is granted, work on the £65 million project is expected to start in mid-2023 and be completed in 2025. It will be funded by the council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Department for Transport.

You can see the planning application at www.york.gov.uk/planning under reference number 22/02020/FULM.