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29
Sept
Bid to speed up traffic at four Harrogate bottlenecks
North Yorkshire Council has awarded a £91,000 contract to study traffic flow at four Harrogate bottleneck junctions.
The council has commissioned WSP UK Limited, a consultancy firm based in London, to carry out the study.
It comes after David Skaith, the Labour mayor of York and North Yorkshire, awarded the council £500,000 for junction improvements on the A61, to support the delivery of the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme, in October 2024.
The work will consider how to improve traffic flow at the Ripon Road, Parliament Street, King’s Road and York Place junctions on the A61.
Motorists heading south around the town on the A61 encounter eight sets of traffic lights in the short distance between Ripon Road and York Place.
The council said the study would help to look at the “wider road network” and come up with opportunities to improve journeys for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
A spokesperson said:
The contract would look at ways to improve traffic flow at the Ripon Road, Parliament Street, Kings Road and York Place junctions on the A61 through Harrogate town centre. This includes considering smarter traffic lights, such as MOVA technology, which adjusts signal timings based on traffic levels.
As MOVA is already being introduced through the Transforming Cities Fund programme, the study would look at the wider road network and identify other opportunities to improve journeys for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
According to the government’s procurement portal, the contract is valued at £91,839 and is due to run until October 30, 2026.
However, the council has the option to extend the work for another year should it want “detailed design” of the options for the junctions.
Mr Skaith approved £500,000 for junction improvements on the A61 two years ago.
The money was awarded to be spent upgrading bottleneck junctions on the A61 to improve traffic flow on the approach to Station Parade, where the main gateway changes will take place.
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