Dear Sirs,

I would like to comment on the traffic in and around Aberford following the emailed letter received on 16/7/18.

The traffic through Aberford has increased noticeably over the last few years. It is having a negative impact on the village as the noise from the traffic can be heard at all times, and the noise from the A1 bypass can at times be almost unbearable.

Aberford Main Street is a ‘rat run’ for traffic coming and going to Leeds, so rush hour is especially busy. Added to this, school traffic causes issues with parents parting on the main street and making the road narrower and school buses waiting to pick up students can cause an obstruction, with traffic queueing to get past.

The A1 Aberford bypass is an accident black spot and when there is an accident the traffic is forced through the village, causing long tailbacks and queues.

Farm traffic uses Aberford main street throughout the day and often has problems negotiating parked cars through the narrowest part of the road.

I have only commented on Aberford, however traffic in other areas such as Barwick in Elmet and Garforth is also very heavy. Any development in Parlington would vastly increase the load of traffic onto the Main Street and I believe the road structure cannot take any large increase in traffic. Regardless of any improvements which may be made to the major roads in the area, a large percentage of traffic is still likely to use the roads through the villages in the area for local trips and when there are traffic problems.

I believe that measures should be taken to reduce the traffic in the area, not to build large developments which will most likely cause gridlock in the area.

I have attached some photos of problems caused when there is an accident on the A1 Aberford bypass.

Yours faithfully, Penny Leedal