A MAJOR £3m scheme to transform the roads in and around Whitby is being put forward.
Nine schemes, the biggest of which will see a roundabout at the A171 to A174 junction at Prospect Hill, have been submitted for approval by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC).
The plans come after a wide-ranging consultation which the county council claims has the public's backing.
The project cost will run to well over £3m.
The junction at Prospect Hill has long been regarded as one of Whitby's worst accident blackspots.
The proposed £500,000 changes, to be paid for through the Local Transport Plan, would see the current layout replaced by a single roundabout, though it has yet to be agreed if the roundabout will also be signallised.
When this scheme was put to the public 81% of those who responded were in favour.
Coun Jane Kenyon, chairman of the Traffic Partnership, told the Whitby Gazette it was great news for everyone that these changes were now going forward.
"I have always been an advocate that the Mayfield Road, Prospect Hill junction should have been a roundabout," she said.
"I believe that it will help cut the number of accidents we see there. The other schemes have also been suggested for a long time but we have never had the resources to implement them.
"Thankfully, now we do."
The other schemes that are to be progressed include:
- traffic restricting measures in St Ann's Staith, Haggersgate, Pier Road, Khyber Pass and East Crescent (estimate cost £120,000)
- new link road and a roundabout to the rear of Stainsacre Lane Industrial Estate (£1.5m bid to Yorkshire Forward submitted by Scarborough Council and national park)
- improved crossings in Windsor Terrace and Bagdale
- Sandsend to Love Lane cycle route (estimated cost £290,000)
- a right turn on the A171 to Stainsacre village
- Whitby Swing Bridge pedestrian improvements
- a right turn on the A169 at Fairhead junction to Grosmont
- a bus turning and junction improvements in Goathland (estimated cost £45,000)
All schemes are dependent on funding being secured and their priority score.
The county council's Yorkshire Coast and Moors Committee will meet to discuss and approve the plans on Thursday.
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