Why the A19 in North Yorkshire is country’s best A road

Driving along the A19 may not seem like the most thrilling way to end a busy day at work – but many motorists disagree, as the route has been voted the country’s best A road.

The stretch in North Yorkshire runs from York through Thirsk, Northallerton, Easingwold, Selby and up to Teesside and has claimed the top spot in a recent Strategic Roads User Survey by independent watchdog Transport Focus.

In the survey, 9,000 road users were asked to rank major ‘A’ roads managed by National Highways and the A19 was given the top spot with the highest overall satisfaction being at 85%.

According to Transport Focus, some of the feedback about the A19 from the survey included praise about its “clear road, decent surface, and good markings”.

And it has even improved from last year’s overall satisfaction of 77%, and in doing so climbs six places to claim this year’s top spot.

Rob Exelby, who helps to run family business Exeby Services just outside Thirsk, said the A19 is mostly likely popular as there are “a lot of iconic towns and cities on the road throughout North Yorkshire and the North East”.

He added that his family manages five Shell garages along the A19 and they see around 2,000 customers a day using their facilities, so the A road helps bring a lot of business.

However, he added the only downside are that there are a lot of accidents and traffic queues, but added “they are dealt with quickly”.

Meanwhile, Will Yarrow, the owner of Yorkshire Haulage, was surprised that particular A road was voted the best, as he said he thinks it’s “manic”.

“There’s always a lot of traffic, which slows everything down, but it is just something we’ve had to get used to over the years,” he says.

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

A spokesperson added: “But the A19, as a 124-mile road, is actually quite new, and much younger than its big brother, the A1, that it runs parallel with, and was part of the historic Great North Road.

“Maybe its status as the ‘other’ north road is part of the A19’s charm. And being a less well-known road to drivers can be an advantage, as many view it as less busy and with fewer traffic jams than the A1(M).”

However, bottlenecks do occur at York and Selby, the only locations where the A19 passes through an urban area.

The Civic Trust added: “Many people probably don’t realise that when they’re stuck in traffic on Bootham, or on Fulford Road queuing for the Designer Outlet, they’re actually still on the A19.

“It gives all the more reason for York to dual its outer ring road, in order to help remove traffic going through the heart of the city.”

Alex Robertson, chief executive at Transport Focus said the survey showed “the maintenance of motorways and major roads is more important to users than building new roads”.

He said: “With road user perceptions of road surface quality deteriorating since 2022 and declining satisfaction with journey times, National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.”

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