Scarborough street named as worst ‘rat run’ in UK
Transport 2000, the Big Issue and Sustrans have published the results of a survey naming a street in Yorkshire as the worst rat run in the UK.
Scarborough’s Wykeham Street has been described by residents as being plagued by speeding motorists hoping to avoiding congestion on main roads. They complain that the residential street is too frequently used by drivers as a shortcut through the town.
Local campaigner Chris Jones has stated that local parents do not allow their children to play outside, fearing that traffic levels make the street unsafe.
“We are confronted every day with volumes of traffic coming down this street. It really does affect our lives and our well-being,” he told the BBC.
Julia Samson of Transport 2000 stated today that local authorities could look at several different options when faced with heavy congestion in their areas.
The rephrasing of traffic lights, congestion charging, or improvements in local bus services could all play a part in cases such as Wykeham Street, she said.
The second most widely used rat run in the UK was named by Transport 2000 as Dukes Avenue in London’s Muswell Hill, which often sees 1000 cars an hour using the road.
In Scotland the worst rat run was judged to be Arkleston Road in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
