Why an A road with 'charm' has been voted UK's best

Driving on the A19 whitethorn not look similar the astir thrilling mode to extremity a engaged time astatine enactment – but galore motorists disagree, arsenic the way has been voted the country’s champion A road.

The agelong successful North Yorkshire runs from York done Thirsk, Northallerton, Easingwold, Selby and up to Teesside and has claimed the apical spot successful a caller Strategic Roads User Survey by autarkic watchdog Transport Focus.

In the survey, 9,000 roadworthy users were asked to fertile large ‘A’ roads managed by National Highways and the A19 was fixed the apical spot with the highest wide restitution being astatine 85%.

According to Transport Focus, immoderate of the feedback astir the A19 from the survey included praise astir its “clear road, decent surface, and bully markings”.

And it has adjacent improved from past year’s wide restitution of 77%, and successful doing truthful climbs six places to assertion this year’s apical spot.

Rob Exelby, who helps to tally household concern Exeby Services conscionable extracurricular Thirsk, said the A19 is mostly apt fashionable arsenic determination are “a batch of iconic towns and cities connected the roadworthy passim North Yorkshire and the North East”.

He added that his household manages 5 Shell garages on the A19 and they spot astir 2,000 customers a time utilizing their facilities, truthful the A roadworthy helps bring a batch of business.

However, helium added the lone downside are that determination are a batch of accidents and postulation queues, but added “they are dealt with quickly”.

Meanwhile, Will Yarrow, the proprietor of Yorkshire Haulage, was amazed that peculiar A roadworthy was voted the best, arsenic helium said helium thinks it’s “manic”.

“There’s ever a batch of traffic, which slows everything down, but it is conscionable thing we’ve had to get utilized to implicit the years,” helium says.

York Civic Trust said that the A19 “directly connects 3 places with important Roman origins; Newcastle, York and Doncaster”.

A spokesperson added: “But the A19, arsenic a 124-mile road, is really rather new, and overmuch younger than its large brother, the A1, that it runs parallel with, and was portion of the historical Great North Road.

“Maybe its presumption arsenic the 'other' northbound roadworthy is portion of the A19's charm. And being a little well-known roadworthy to drivers tin beryllium an advantage, arsenic galore presumption it arsenic little engaged and with less postulation jams than the A1(M)."

However, bottlenecks bash hap astatine York and Selby, the lone locations wherever the A19 passes done an municipality area.

The Civic Trust added: "Many radical astir apt don't realise that erstwhile they're stuck successful postulation connected Bootham, oregon connected Fulford Road queuing for the Designer Outlet, they're really inactive connected the A19.

"It gives each the much crushed for York to dual its outer ringing road, successful bid to assistance region postulation going done the bosom of the city.”

Alex Robertson, main enforcement astatine Transport Focus said the survey showed “the attraction of motorways and large roads is much important to users than gathering caller roads”.

He said: “With roadworthy idiosyncratic perceptions of roadworthy aboveground prime deteriorating since 2022 and declining restitution with travel times, National Highways indispensable proceed to absorption connected delivering safe, creaseless journeys.”

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