TRO HGV Sutton Bank

While I have sympathy with the campaign, before I sign up can somebdy please state what the alternative route would be ?

#28: thecaravanroute - Sutton Bank 

In the TRO submission Sutton under Whitestonecliffe Parish Council has not suggested what the alternative route would be.  We have asked for local hauliers/farmers to be allowed to use Sutton Bank as they have experience in how to navigate it.  North Yorkshire County Council with the Freight Quality Partnership instructed a company called Faber Maunsell to carry out a HGV study on Sutton Bank.  This Faber Maunsell report has several recommendations which included signage on the A1 to direct traffic via the A64 and information boards/signage to assist HGV drivers in understanding the severity of Sutton Bank.  We hope this answers your question and you now feel able to sign our petition.  Caroline Artingstoll, Chairman, Sutton under Whitestonecliffe Parish Council

#2: -  

 Will there have to be a fatality on this bank before HGV`s are banned.  The owners of these wagons should be fined if they cause a blockage and the money put back into the public services.

I drive up and down the bank every weekday. I usually drive up at about 8.10am and I am delayed by a struggling or stuck HGV at least once a week and more often than not, two times a week or more! This is just one time during the day, which suggests to me, that it it must be happening several times a day. For me it culminated just last week, (April 15) with two HGVs stuck , one on the first steep stretch and the second immediately after the hair pin. Needless to say the situation was chaotic and dangerous!

The road really is unsuitable for fully loaded HGV and drivers who do not know how to tackle such a steep grade. I accept that a detour will probably add extra time and expense to HGV journeys, however, I think this is in the best interests of the majority of motorists who use the bank.

I travel up Sutton Bank every weekday and see the carnage caused by trucks on a daily basis; needless to say I am late for work on a regular basis and have started taking a photo and sending it to my manager as proof - or directing him to the webcam to see for himself.

From a Safety aspect I regularly have to overtake a stalled truck on blind bends, going up hill to get past them - its only a matter of time before someone is killed.

On more than one occasion I have experience trucks reversing or rolling down into the oncoming traffic as they cannot get any further. I now stay well back from trucks as they attempt the climb but have seen cars tailgating them and then drivers panic when they realise the articulated missile 2ft in front of them is rolling back (and the driver cannot see them).
 
Some misguided truckers decide that it would be a clever thing to do to try to turn round - usually getting jammed/jack-knifed in the process - and blocking the road completely - taking out hedges, walls, salt bins or curbs in doing so.

This of course requires the police (tax payers expense) to sort out the mess.

Maybe if the bill for police time, repair of roads, verges, hedges etc was sent to the transport company along with a hefty fine they would think twice.

Caravans historically were banned for obvious reasons, but as most caravans now are towed by 4wd with sufficient towing capacity, they are more likely to succeed than a truck.

Problem is - where do you stop - I know of several occassions when horseboxes or livestock trailers have become stuck as well.  Do you ban the lot of them??

yes the bank is a big problem - but there isn't an alternative. Snek Yat is impractical, White Horse Bank even steeper. You can't direct traffic through Kilburn, Coxwold, Wass, Byland and Ampleforth the roads aren't suitable. So wagons would have to go all the way round York via A19 A64 which would be miles out of their way.

Surely the only option would be massive work on the bank to make it easier to navigate.

so sorry I can't sign this until you offer a viable option.

In response to Comment 38 by Ladybear.

You are absolutely right, Snek Yat and White Horse Bank are impractical. Everyone shares your concerns, but where do you think traffic diverts to every time Sutton Bank becomes blocked - all of the surrounding villages by unsuitable narrow roads. Reduce the blockages and reduce such diversions.

HGV blockages affect residents in the general locality, together with all road users, including hauliers and their businesses. There are direct and indirect economic costs respectively to Council Tax payers, due to Police and Fire and Resue responses to blockages; and business personnel delayed by being caught up in the ensuing mayhem. 

Local hauliers and other hauliers who are capable of ascending Sutton Bank would be allowed to use the route by permit.

In 2004, North Yorkshire County Council undertook a review of Sutton Bank which involved creating a Freight Quality Partnership. An expensive study was carried out by Faber Maunsell Consulting Engineers on their behalf and their recommendations included:

1. Lorry specific signing to route traffic from the South via A64 York and Malton
2. Show 1 in 4 sections on maps
3. Laybys with Information Points on the A1 and A19
4. VMS sign reflecting weather, e.g. if wet sign shows "no lorries > 26 tonnes"
5. Better turnaround points on Sutton Bank
6. Redesign hairpin, reducing camber of inside curve

11 years on and none of these recommendations have been implemented. However, we understand that our campaign may have resulted in North Yorkshire County Council revisiting this issue, and every signature on this petition should help us press for a solution.

In your comment, you say there isn't an alternative, but a combination of the suggested TRO and the recommendations above is the best alternative. Incidenatally, where do all of the HGV's go during the annual weekly maintenance shutdown of Sutton Bank? Probably on more suitable A-roads to the North and South.

Sutton Bank closed again this morning after a Heavy Goods Vehicle got stuck trying to ascend the bank at approximately 8.00 am.

Police were in attendance.

Hopefully, motorists noticed the signs encouraging them to sign this petition

Another photo of this morning's blockage.

These pictures were taken a good mile from the summit.

We travel often up and down Sutton Bank and we have often wondered why caravans are banned but not HGV lorries. We have also been stuck but this was on a Sunday afternoon. They should be banned.

#1: Caroline Artingstoll -  

A lot of people letting off steam in these comments with few constructive suggestions. How are hauliers supposed to get goods to Helmsley, Kirkby Moorside, Pickering and Scarborough? The alternative routes involve considerable diversions. Surely what's needed is a better road; one that bypasses Sutton village and climbs the bank in a series of well engineered, wide sweeping corners. Its done that way by all the countries who share the European Alps - which are somewhat more of an obstacle than Sutton bank.