Survey on traffic jams in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon

Consultants working for North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Council are to conduct roadside interviews with drivers during March and April to gather vital information about journey patterns.

The information they collect will be fed into an examination of the causes of traffic congestion, and will help in the process of devising solutions.

The authorities have not revealed how much money will be devoted to sorting out the congestion problems or where it will come from.

County councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said: “The three communities, and Harrogate in particular, have serious problems with congestion, and we want to be in a position to do something positive about resolving them.

“The information on journey patterns that we collect in this survey will be of great importance to our engineers and planners in deciding where to invest money and resources to get the outcome we all want to see – fewer jams, easier movement, more pleasant driving conditions.”

Councillor Michael Harrison, Harrogate Council’s Cabinet member for planning said: “Data on journey patterns is an important factor in planning application decisions and is essential for providing robust evidence for the Local Plan.”

The roadside traffic surveys will begin in the middle of March, and both councils have appealed to motorists to be co-operative when directed by police officers to stop and participate.

A spokesman said: “Individual surveys do not take long to complete, and while participation is voluntary, the more drivers who help provide information, the more beneficial will be the result. All information is treated in strict confidence.

“Each survey site is operated in one direction, on one day only, with each interview lasting no more than three minutes. Every effort will be made to keep any delays to an absolute minimum.”

Meanwhile, construction work as started on the Bedale bypass following an official sod-cutting ceremony.

The £35m scheme will be three miles long, from Northallerton Road, on outskirts of Leeming Bar, to a new junction on the A684 near Bedale Golf Club.

Traffic flow on the existing road is around 14,000 vehicles a day, with congestion in Bedale, Leeming Bar and Aiskew.