YORK motorists have been praying for it for years. But today it was revealed that the notoriously congested outer ring road WILL NOT be made into a dual carriageway.

A City of York Council report has ruled out dualling the road between Copmanthorpe and Hopgrove because of the cost - and because officers fear it will attract cars.

That conclusion drew incredulity from villagers living near to the frequently gridlocked highway, who pressed for a rethink from council chiefs.

Officers have recommended upgrading roundabouts and links on the A1237 would be the best way of reducing journey times.

The report, which will be viewed by councillors on the planning and transport advisory body next week, was commissioned to find a solution into the growing traffic problem on the key road.

Written by capital programme manager Tony Clarke, it reveals that journey times will "increase substantially in the future" if mitigation measures to relieve congestion are not introduced.

An afternoon peak time journey between Copmanthorpe roundabout and Hopgrove roundabout is predicted to take more than an hour by 2021, with severe delays at a number of key junctions.

The number of trips on the road is expected to increase by 20 per cent in the morning and 16 per cent in the evening, leaving council chiefs with a traffic headache they must solve.

Dualling the road would leave the council with the fastest minimum journey times, a congestion-free outer ring road and significantly improved bus and journey times.

But the council report reveals the scheme would cost £115 million and would "encourage additional traffic to use the road". The authority also believes the scheme would be visually intrusive and actually increase congestion on the approaches to the road.

Those arguments have been dismissed by villagers living near to the road and by traffic campaigners.

Edmund King, executive director of transport research group RAC Foundation, said it was foolish to suggest that to dual the road would "attract" cars.

"People don't go round these roads for the heck of it," he said. "They go because they want to get somewhere. In terms of the environment, what's better? Traffic on the outer ring road or rat running through the villages?

"In terms of funding, with the southern part of the city at the A64 already dualled I think they (the council) would have a very strong case for completing it.

"Our view is that the long- term option has to be making the A1237 a dual carriageway, and the sooner they do that the better."

Bill Hiles, chairman of the Shipton Bypass Committee, said traffic tailed back into the village when there were problems on the A1237.

Shipton-by-Beningbrough's fight for a bypass to relieve traffic pressures on the village was dealt a blow in March when the scheme was scrapped from North Yorkshire County Council's draft transport plans.

He said: "This road has to be dualled to make it work properly. It's the only option. What will it cost the longer they leave this plan?"

Councillors will consider the report in the light of a number of recommendations, including approving a proposal to approve the first block of work - which would see improvements to roundabouts and junctions at Hopgrove, A59, Moor Lane/Askham Lane/Askham Bryan Lane and Wetherby Road.

Len Cruddas, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, sympathised with the problems of funding a major traffic scheme, but said: "The dual carriageway would be an ideal solution."

He said he would like to see the scheme continue to be on the agenda for the next 20 years, regardless of whether it was adopted at this time.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Labour's transport chief, said the roundabout improvements scheme should be combined with a package of further measures in the upcoming local transport plan to alleviate congestion.

'Serious challenges' for transport chiefs

COUNCILLOR Ann Reid, the council's transport chief, said there were serious challenges ahead in relation to the outer ring road.

She said: "The report shows some 40 per cent of cars driving into the city centre are cutting through to avoid the ring road.

"Improvements to the ring road are vital if we are to cut the number of people using routes through the city centre.

"This would be done alongside better public transport such as 'orbital' buses circling the city and improvements to cycle routes and footpaths. Junction improvements would be made in three stages, with Moor Lane junction being in the first phase, as a safety priority.

"It is important to be clear why a dual carriageway option has not been recommended. "Firstly, to do the works necessary would cost in the region of £115 million, and the improvement on journey times over the officers' recommended scheme is minimal. A 400 per cent cost increase for the scheme would only bring about an additional three orfour minute drop in peak journey times, and so this option would be extremely unlikely to receive government funding on best value grounds."

Updated: 09:56 Wednesday, June 29, 2005