Does Hull have an access problem?

2762 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by CWTF, May 25, 2012

Dazzar86

Discussion Starter · May 22, 2012

Didn't know where to put this... not really a random Skybar conversation, as I think it could be a good debate and didn't think it'd suit clogging up the roads thread.

Does anybody think Hull has an 'access' problem?

I don't know from which direction/route people on here take into Hull, but when you look at the roads across the county, all routes from the North all go to Beverley, and there is no direct road into Hull, both routes from the North consist of having to drive right round the outskirts of the city, and then having to drive the full length of the route from the outskirts to the centre.

If, like me, you take the route from which everyone uses to and from Bridlington, it means having to be diverted via Long Riston, Skirlaugh, Coniston etc, before having to do the full length of Holderness Road which has to be the biggest bottleneck in Hull (well, the shopping district part of it anyway), and all the traffic lights make it a nightmare journey that takes AGES.

The only other options are to go all the way to Beverley first and then take the long and winding road at a snail pace, 30mph, through Woodmansey and Dunswell, OR drive all the way around Beverley/through it to get to the A164, to get to the only decent roads with good access into the city.

As the East Riding is a hotspot for retired people, you often get stuck on a winding road behind a pensioner doing 40 mph in a 60 and can't do anything about it. A slow moving region isn't very good for business.

Surely we should have a dual-carriageway that extends from the Leven dual-carriageway all the way to Hull to speed up movement between Hull and Bridlington?

As well as the mag, I do a few days a week part-time marketing/product design for a company in Driffield - in the office we get loads of people coming in all the time, who end up generally chatting, they're all East Riding residents (mainly from around Driffield and Beverley) and not one of them has said they go into Hull, for anything. Most talk of going to Beverley, Bridlington and York.

Most say they only go to Hull to go to Kingswood for the cinema and 9 times out of 10 use Wawne Road/Meaux Road... which, if you've ever used, is a ridiculous option as the only direct (despite being a windey road) route into the only city in the county.

So, is one of the cities downfalls to attracting more East Riding residents into the city the reason that you have to go out of your way to get to the centre in the first place?

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legolamb

· #2 · May 22, 2012 (Edited)

Won't the proposed Beverley bypass improve access from the north for the likes of driffield, york etc? - I haven't fully looked into what the plans are yet.

Anyway - there are 4 trains an hour through driffield which take less than 30 minutes direct to paragon but i'm willing to bet there is very little in the way of advertising the city centre as a leisure destination outside of commuting hours.

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up the tigers

· #3 · May 22, 2012

From certain directions accessibility is poor i agree but i use Hedon road, and most of my journeys further afield involve the A63/A15. Providing, if dont get caught in traffic at peak times, i can get from Keyingham to the Humber Bridge in 30 minutes. I would say thats pretty good considering that route takes you through the heart of the city. In another 15-20 minuites you can be in Scunthorpe/Grimsby. Its a shame that the fastest routes are to be found to the south of the city, which has been the side that Hull has traditionally felt cut off from from. Although this has been partially remedied by the reduction in Bridge tolls.

I do think Clive Sullivan Way was one of the best things to happen for the city as it whisks you in and out of the city centre in minutes. Unfortunately for Beverley residents the route into the city centre isnt so straightforward.

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Dazzar86

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 22, 2012

legolamb said:
Won't the proposed Beverley bypass improve access from the north for the likes of driffield, york etc? - I haven't fully looked into what the plans are yet.

Anyway - there are 4 trains an hour through driffield which take less than 30 minutes direct to paragon but i'm willing to bet there is very little in the way of advertising the city centre as a leisure destination outside of commuting hours.

I'd say the train prices on that line are stupidly expensive, I remember someone telling me.

The Southern bypass may speed the jounrey to Hull up, but in fairness will only lengthen the journey and put people off doing it.

From Driffield, you already have the option of the Western bypass of Beverley, or the Northern bypass and then onto the very slow Woodmansey/Dunswell Rd... both very long way's around.

From Bridlington, all it would do is send you an extra 7+ miles away from Hull before coming back in on yourself... so no improvement.

The fact Wawne road is so well used despite being barely big enough to fit two cars down it, is ridiculous. East Riding council will never help make access to Hull better though, will they?

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Dazzar86

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 22, 2012

up the tigers said:
From certain directions accessibility is poor i agree but i use Hedon road, and most of my journeys further afield involve the A63/A15. Providing, if dont get caught in traffic at peak times, i can get from Keyingham to the Humber Bridge in 30 minutes. I would say thats pretty good considering that route takes you through the heart of the city. In another 15-20 minuites you can be in Scunthorpe/Grimsby. Its a shame that the fastest routes are to be found to the south of the city, which has been the side that Hull has traditionally felt cut off from from. Although this has been partially remedied by the reduction in Bridge tolls.

I do think Clive Sullivan Way was one of the best things to happen for the city as it whisks you in and out of the city centre in minutes. Unfortunately for Beverley residents the route into the city centre isnt so straightforward.

Yeah, coming from the Bridlington road, you have to either go all the way down Holderness Road, or weave your way down back streets till you get to the Preston Rd area to get onto Hedon Rd.

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Holmeboy

· #6 · May 23, 2012

Definitely agree, Hull is a bit neglected when it comes to coming from Northern points on the compass.

Access from the South via Humber Bridge, East and West by Hedon Road and Clive Sullivan Way is good, i remember when Hedon Road was a nightmare before it was redeveloped 10 yrs ago.

I live in the North East, and whenever i want to come back to Hull i have the Hobsons Choice of the meandering crap A1064 (which must be the most annoying road in Britain) or going miles out of my way via A1 and M62 but at least keeping up a good speed on the route.

Probably the solution to get a good northern access road would be to do something on the East Bank, with Cleveland Street, and the road through Sutton Fields as there is more room on that side of the city, rather then Beverley Road, which i think would be near on impossible to upgrade.

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bighead

· #7 · May 23, 2012

i get your point darren but driffield is a small town 20 miles away in a different post code so i don't see how it should be any sort of priority to link it. the same goes for brid really.

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legolamb

· #8 · May 23, 2012

^^ True, but with Beverley growing population wise and developing southwards at a rapid rate I would see it as an important part of the city's long term planning to do exactly as Holmeboy suggests and use the industrial east side of the river to provide a dual carriageway link to the heart of the city following the current stockholm road route, although this would probably just move congestion south to the stoneferry road/cleveland streetarea. Dualling sutton road west of the holwell road roundabout might be helpful in the interim and should be easy.

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pug

· #9 · May 23, 2012

The A1079 should be dualled right up to at least the A64 near York. Perhaps joining up with the eastern side of Hull like Holmeboy suggests, linking direct to the east of the city centre and docks whilst bypassing Beverley Road, which could then in turn encourage rejeneration of the east bank area of the river Hull. Eventually the dualling of the A164 Humber Bridge to Beverley would then effectively create an outer ring road and improve access between Lincolnshire, Hull and York and the North East.

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Dazzar86

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 24, 2012

bighead said:
i get your point darren but driffield is a small town 20 miles away in a different post code so i don't see how it should be any sort of priority to link it. the same goes for brid really.

Business-wise, it makes a lot of sense, both ways. Especially with Bridlington, as there are a lot of businesses that would probably do more trade using the docks if the road access was better, which is good for businesses in Hull and Bridlington.

I also imagine that if you could cut the travelling time between the two in half, it means you could travel the length of the East Riding of Yorkshire by a lot, which would also help boost business.

It would also boost Brid on sunny days, allowing better access for people coming from Hull for the day and also boost Hull by giving access to people from Bridlington (and everyone else inbetween) to come to Hull shopping.

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pug

· #11 · May 25, 2012

Business-wise, it makes a lot of sense, both ways. Especially with Bridlington, as there are a lot of businesses that would probably do more trade using the docks if the road access was better, which is good for businesses in Hull and Bridlington.

I also imagine that if you could cut the travelling time between the two in half, it means you could travel the length of the East Riding of Yorkshire by a lot, which would also help boost business.

It would also boost Brid on sunny days, allowing better access for people coming from Hull for the day and also boost Hull by giving access to people from Bridlington (and everyone else inbetween) to come to Hull shopping.

Thats all very parochial though, and not exactly what the Government look for when they award funding to road projects.

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livin' hull

· #12 · May 25, 2012

in pure economic terms the only links that matter for trade etc to Hull are east-west (ie access to the main M62 population hub and north-south transport links) - links directly north into the rural parts of east yorkshire - whilst good for local commuting wouldnt realise any real economic benefits... the only exception is possibly the A1079 - which if dualled the full length - would give dual carriageway from Humber Bridge to York (once A614 upgrade is finished!)

as for a north south link from Driffield (and beyond) most people I know who work in Hull City centre from this area come in via the west side of the city - using the A614 - and once past Beverley, the road to Driffield is pretty good (except if stuck behind a tractor - but it is the countryside and farmers were there first!) - so the only bit that needs sorting is possibly the bit between east Beverley and A1079 Dunswell roundabout... (I try not to use this route into Beverley - and living in west Hull use the A614 anyway)

As for the road to Brid - hmm its about the same as the road to Scarborough (from any direction) or Skegness or Great Yarmouth etc - coastal towns are notorious for having poor road links...

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CWTF

· #13 · May 25, 2012

As for train connections - we all know about the need to upgrade the Hessle-Selby stretch to 125mph line speed to shorten journey times. Apparently this is the longest section of straight track in the country so it should be the fastest too. No reason why it shouldn't be possible to get to Doncaster in 30 minutes really...

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