Closure of the Black Swan Crossing on the A19(T)

Submission to North Yorkshire County Council Hambleton Area Meeting

by Martin Brown, resident of East Rounton 5^th February 2005

Last time we pleaded the rational case for keeping the Black Swan crossing open and councillors voted unanimously against closure. But you were unable to help us and the junction was closed anyway. Now we plead for our local roads and a bridge.

You have a reassuring report in front of you that says everything is just fine. Please look at Appendix C (map of accident locations). Out of the 7 accidents since closure no fewer than 5 of them are in positions consistent with being displaced Black Swan accidents - particularly two on the A172, and one in East Harsley.

The traffic survey was incomplete but showed an 8% drop in overall traffic and a halving of traffic at the Black Swan. But East Harsley gets double the peak rate at rush hour down a congested village street – and had one accident already. And just last night there was another high speed crash at East Harsley.

The situation West of the A19 is now disastrous. There is a north-south barrier and no good way home from A19 southbound. Rounton and Welbury are not signed at all. We have been totally abandoned and isolated.

Alternative routes were not signed to evade responsibility for the county road network now taking increased traffic – see minutes of November item 331. These roads are your responsibility – you cannot blame Highways Agency for this.

The single track back road is being smashed to pieces by increased traffic and the need to mount the soft verges to pass other vehicles. This is not mentioned at all in your report. We have been lucky so far in this mild winter with no snow.

The communities on the West of the A19 desperately need your support for:

Signs from A19S to Rounton and Welbury

Metalled passing places

Repairs to road surface and drains

Gritting in winter

The alternative mainline routes only add 6 miles to every journey. But the A19 route via the Tontine is flawed. The A19 southbound exit is acutely substandard with a very sharp bend. This didn’t matter before when very little traffic used it.

I urge you to object to this closure. We might just get a bridge out of a public enquiry but if you roll over we will certainly get nothing at all. Go and look at Long Newton on the A66 to see how it could be done if the police were willing.

MTB/50205