A1237 road

A1237 road
Roundabout at the junction of A1237 and Strensall Road
Route information
Length:	10 mi (20 km)
Major junctions
south east end:	A64 road Junction (Copmanthorpe/Askham Bryan)
	A59 road A19 road
South west end:	A64 road junction (Hopgrove)
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The A1237 road is a road that runs to the west and north of the city of York, England. It forms part of the York Outer Ring Road as either end of the route forms junctions with the A64 to the south-west and east of the city to act as a city distributor. Construction began in 1984 and consisted of three distinct building phases. The road took three years to complete and has been subject since to studies looking to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents. The National Speed Limit for an A Class Road applies.

History

A1237 York outer ring road during construction near junction for Acomb, Acomb Park and Askham Bryan

An outer ring road for York had been proposed as far back as 1948 by members of York City Council's Civic Committee. The scheme proposed by Adshead, Needham and Minter was grander in scale than currently exists. The northern section, based on junctions with the old A64 route, would have have started clockwise from the current A64 eastbound turn-off to Askham Richard and Bilbrough. It would have passed to the north west of Nether Poppleton and Skelton. It would still run south of Haxby and Wigginton, but continue more easterly than the current road to rejoin the A64 north of Stockton-on-Forest.^[1]

The case for a solution to the increasing traffic management issues in the centre of the city of York during the 1960s were primarily to aid the local tourism industry. The first proposals were for an inner ring road that would be a dual carriageway. This met opposition as it would call for demolition of homes and many archaeological sites. This resulted in a public inquiry in 1972 that backed the inner ring road proposal, but the decision remained with the Secretary of State for the Environment, who eventually ruled against it in 1975, by which time the construction of the dual carriageway A64 was nearly complete.^[2]

The inner ring road proposals were in contrast to 1958 report for the Minister for Housing and Local Government and the local council, by Lord Esher, entitled York: A Study in Conservation. This attempted to address modernising four English cities without undue impact on their heritage. The York Corporation, in contrast, still maintained their preference for the inner ring road, though this was subsequently limited to the current layout around the outside of the city walls.^[3][4]

To cater for the numerous proposed developments on the outskirts of York, such as Clifton Moor, the decision was taken to construct a road to the west and north of York to link to the A64. This came out of evidence given to the 1972 Public Inquiry into the propose new Inner Ring Road. Studies conducted by Professor Smeed indicated an Outer Ring Road with radial roads was the best solution.^[5]

The A1237 was the second part of the outer ring road and was constructed in three phases some 11 years after the first part, the A64 York Bypass, was completed. This was due to different organisations being responsible for the two roads and their strategic planning. The first phase of contruction started in 1984 on the northern section between the A19 and the A64. It opened in 1986. Phase two and three started construction in 1985 with the second and third sections opening the following year in September and December respectively. Phase two was between the A64 and the A59 and phase three was the short section between the A59 and A19. This section took longer to construct due to it having to cross the River Ouse and the East Coast Main Line. Phase three was opened by the Secretary of State for Transport Paul Channon on 11 December 1987.

Route

Cycle crossing for A1237 near junction for Acomb, Acomb Park and Askham Bryan

This is a single carriageway road, and has twelve roundabouts. Starting at the western end going clockwise, the road begins as one of the exits from the grade separated junction with the A64 exit for Copmanthorpe, Askham Bryan and York North. The last 1 mile section ends with the double roundabout at Hopgrove that links Malton Road and the A1237 with the A64 to complete the York Outer Ring Road.

Improvements

Implemented

In 2011 the roundabout on the A19 junction was upgraded at a cost of £1.2M and took about 12 weeks. Access and exits were widened; improved crossings; resurfacing and improved lighting and signage were done.^[6]

In 2014, the roundabout that formed the junction between the ring road and the A59 was improved by York City Council in time for the 2014 Tour de France Stage 2 to pass over it.^[7]

In 2015 the City Council in partnership with North Yorkshire Police, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree School created a shared cycle/footpath by the ring road between the Haxby Road and Wigginton Road roundabouts.^[8]

Proposed

Several bodies have proposed improvements to the A1237 including:

• Dualling the road by 2030 as detailed in the North Yorkshire Strategic Prospectus.^[9]
• In the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund (York Schemes), improvements to seven roundabouts between the Wetherby Road and Monks Cross junctions. The design includes ensuring room for future dualling of the carriageways; increasing the number of approach and exit lanes at the roundabouts; enlarging their diameter; three subways for pedestrians/cyclists at busy crossing points and two bridges to accommodate a widened road.^[10]
• On 3 March 2015 the Executive of York City Council resolved to progress Option 1 of the report into improvements to the York Outer Ring Road. This was to carry out the work recommended in the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund (York Schemes)^[11]

Rejected

Congestion immediately became a problem, especially at peak times, and the 1989 Department for Transport's Roads for Prosperity white paper included improvements to the section between (A19to the A64). The proposals were for a new continuous through-route running parallel to the existing road with just a single grade separated junction at the B1363. The existing road, and the roundabouts, would have been retained for local access. The plans were subsequently dropped.^[12]

Plans for dualling 7.8km, at a cost £31M, of the A1237 York Outer Ring Road were rejected by the Regional Transport Board in 2009.^[13]

Traffic studies

Congestion at peak times remains an issue and has led to studies that show that delays at all junctions will lead to an increase in journey times ranging between two to three times longer compared to 2003. A study from March 2001 and February also recorded 172 accidents, of which 21 were serious and 5 involved a fatality.^[14]

References

A roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A1 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17 A18 A19
	A100 A101 A102 A103 A104 A105 A106 A107 A109 A110 A111 A114 A116 A118 A119 A120 A121 A124 A127 A128 A129 A130 A131 A132 A133 A134 A135 A140 A142 A143 A144 A145 A146 A148 A149 A151 A152 A153 A156 A157 A158 A159 A160 A161 A165 A166 A167 A168 A169 A170 A171 A172 A173 A174 A177 A178 A179 A180 A182 A183 A186 A189 A194 A197
	A1000 A1010 A1018 A1023 A1031 A1058 A1065 A1066 A1067 A1068 A1071 A1073 A1078 A1079 A1081 A1082 A1085 A1086 A1094 A1095 A1098 A1101 A1107 A1120 A1136 A1144 A1151 A1156 A1159 A1175 A1198 A1200 A1202 A1205 A1231 A1232 A1237 A1260 A1300 A1303 A1309 A1500
List of A roads in Zone 1 List of B roads in Zone 1