A Liberal Democrat view of life in the City of York. This website is edited by Steve Galloway who represented the Westfield area on the City of York Council between 1973 and 2011.
RT @CityofYork: We will still be collecting bins scheduled for this bank holiday. Please be sure to present your bin before 7am on the day…
Residents rightly become irritated when they report public service problems and either they take a long time to clear up or the issue occurs again very soon afterwards.
This is particularly frustrating when potholes reopen and gullies become blocked immediately there is a shower of rain
We think that the York Council needs to get to the root causes of some issues.
They currently spend a lot of money clearing up fly tipping but have been very tardy in advertising the bulky waste collection service the cost of which was reduced substantially in April.
Recurrent litter problems occur on some snickets. It should be possible to identify, and fine, offenders. In some cases the littering is happening everyday.
Full litter bins like this one in Cornlands Road add to problems
Snickets off Tennent Road are regularly littered
The Tithe Close snicket is littered on most daysIts not just urban roads that suffer from littering. This Is Bland Lane near Knapton Local Councillors should arrange for gated alleys – like this in Jute Road – to be cleaned from time to timeBedding has been dumped on the playground on Cornlands Road
We mentioned last week that we hoped the new York Council would tackle some long outstanding problems with cycle routes
The biggest problem remains the state of road surfaces.
Potholes, like this on Bland Lane, pose a hazard for cyclists, particularly at nightUneven carriageways are uncomfortable for cyclists. This is in Low Poppleton Lane
On the Beckfield Lane to Jute Road path a (very) old notice prohibits cycling. The Council has however fitted cycle friendly barriers.
The same Jute Road snicket is obstructed by weeds.Detritus is a particular problem on the gated sectionThe cycle path link from North Moor Lane to Rufforth is taking a long time to complete
Over 4,000 pedestrians and cyclists have been using the upgraded Scarborough Bridge foot and cycle bridge everyday since it reopened after a £4.4m upgrade.
This is already an increase of 1,000 extra journeys on the average of 3,000 daily crossings on the old footbridge.
The new accessible bridge has been delivered in partnership by City of York Council, the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership (YNYER)and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) through its £60m City Connect programme, aimed at encouraging more people to cycle and walk.
Although the bridge is now open to the public, work will continue to complete sections of the ramps, install the permanent handrail and erect new lighting.
The new steps to the riverside are open for public use in an interim state, with the final Yorkstone finish and permanent handrail to be installed in the next two weeks.
The bridge and ramps remain open to the public at all times, although the public are reminded that direct access into the station remains – as it was before the upgrade – closed between 22.30 and 05.30.
The £4.4m project has been funded by a £1.9m grant through the Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme, a £1.5m Local Growth Fund secured by YNYER and £1m of City of York Council funds.
At 65-metres long the new bridge is three times as wide at 3.7metres, increasing access to more people and the new ramps and steps mean that it is accessible even at times that the river is in flood. The new bridge is constructed of weathering steel – the same as Gateshead’s famous statue, The Angel of the North.
In March, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and City of York Council were awarded £300,000 from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. to make further improvements to cycle and walkways between Scarborough Bridge, York railway station and the city centre.
These improvements will include:
An enhanced crossing of Bootham linking into the cycle route through to the district hospital.
Improving the riverside cycle route on the Esplanade side of the river.
Replacing the steps from St Mary’s to Marygate Lane with a ramp.
A full BIFFA bin has been abandoned in the little Green Lane garage area in Acomb. It has been there for over 4 weeks. The bins is stuffed high with black bags.
The garage area is owned by the York Council but is rarely inspected and even more rarely cleaned up.
Hopefully whoever rented this bin will get it removed quickly.
Biffa bin abandoned in Green Lane garage area
We’ve reported black bags left next to the litter big on Hamilton Drive West
Some verges haven’t been cut this year and are looking untidy. We have reported those on Foxwood Lane and Bellhouse WayWeeds are growing on the path and road at the end of Sherringham Drive. The Council has not yet published when it hopes to schedule weed treatments this summer.Work has started on the demolition of Windsor House. There is still a lot of confusion about this project with additional costs scheduled to be discussed at a Council meeting taking place on 16th June. There has still been no update on the plans to relocate the children’s all weather play area.
As reported earlier in the week, residents living next to the Library in Acomb were dismayed to find that demolition contractors had taken over the adjacent Council owned land. The trespass apparently formed part of the plan to build on the bowling club
Plan shows Council owned site which has been bulldozed
Several days later and things are even worse.
A 4 metre high mound of spoil has now appeared. It is only feet from the gardens of nearby homes
Spoil heap is nearly 4 metres high
The Council appears to have done nothing other than send an environmental protection officer to the site to make an inspection.
The Council has remained tight lipped about whether they have granted permission for the work and whether the actions of the contractor breach planning regulations.
Acomb Explore Library invites you to come and have a go at Boccia!
Boccia is an inclusive game that is becoming increasingly popular throughout the country. It is related to bowls and played indoors from a seated position using soft leather balls.
The session is free and tea and biscuits are provided and will run weekly on the same day and time.+ GOOGLE CALENDAR+ ICAL EXPORT
