Traffic specialists claim that journey times on the A19 between York and Selby could be almost halved if a new development gets the go ahead.
A report commissioned by the team who want to create Heronby, a 3,500 home development at Stillingfleet, say it could ease travel headaches.
Extensive transport modelling carried out by specialists on behalf of the landowner Escrick Park Estate looks at both current and future road use.
The study says that Heronby “would be the catalyst for major road improvements” which would see typical maximum journey times between Riccall and the York Designer Outlet Park & Ride cut from the current 24 minutes at peak times, to just 14 minutes.
Without the proposed improvements, and without Heronby, the Riccall to Designer Outlet journey time is likely to increase to 43 minutes by the year 2045, says the report.
That’s based on the forecast growth in traffic which is similar to the historical rates of growth in traffic since the year 2000.
Among the improvements proposed for the A19 are significant upgrades to junctions at the Skipwith Road, Crockey Hill and the A64, which links to the York Designer Outlet park-and-ride.
In addition, a bypass around Escrick village could mean 20,000 fewer vehicles each day going through the middle of the village, greatly improving the quality of life for its residents. It is also anticipated that bus services could return to Main Street.
The transport modelling was conducted by civil and transport planning engineers Bryan G Hall.
In September this year, Selby District councillors voted for Heronby as their preferred single settlement option to be included in the forthcoming Local Plan.
But the development is controversial.
Last month, City of York Council voted to object to the scheme, saying it would have a “very significant” impact on the city and could end up costing the council tens of millions of pounds.
The proposed improvements
The major road improvements suggested by the study are:
- Traffic signals at the Skipwith Road/A19 junction which would reduce average delays at this junction to one minute for all users, including buses.
- Crockey Hill/A19 junction improvements, which would reduce delays there to around 15 seconds.
Improvements to the A19-A64 junction to link up with the York Designer Outlet park-and-ride, which would also considerably reduce delays.
Beilby Forbes Adam of Escrick Park Estate who are behind the proposals for Heronby said: “If we are to tackle climate change, congestion, and rising fuel costs, we need to consider how people move around – and why – and offer alternatives which work in the real world.”
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