A York Council manager has responded promptly to reports of Epicormic (lower trunk) growth on some trees in the Cornlands Road/Tudor Road area.
Such growth can cause sight line problems for drivers.
The manager says the branches will be trimmed.
Dumping is a problem at some empty properties.
We’ve reported a similar issue with a tree at the junction of Cornlands Road and Askham Lane.
We also received a prompt response from Cllr Demise Craghill who has executive responsibility for housing in the City.
She was sympathetic to our complaints about delays in bringing empty Council houses back into use and promised to pursue two long standing issues in the Foxwood Lane area.
Morrell Court
Lack of action to level potholes on the Morrell Court access road has now been registered as a formal complaint with the Council. The defects were first reported 6 months ago.
Elsewhere black bags have been left next to the recycling bins at the Acomb Wood Drive shopping area.
Grange Lane/Parker Avenue snicket is gradually getting narrower!Trees are now blocking part of the path which links Kingsway West and Green Lane. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the grass. The trees are in the compound of the Council’s building contractor. & another Council garage forecourt area apparently missed of the weed killing list. This one on Windsor Garth
With almost breath taking arrogance, the York Council has issued a statement saying that the closure of the southbound lane at Bishopthorpe Road shops will continue for another 2 months.
There has been no debate about other options and a large petition – which asked for the road to be reopened – has been ignored.
No report on the success or otherwise of what the Council describes as a “trial” has been published.
One of the earliest criticisms of the scheme was that the Council had failed to identify how the success or otherwise of the project would actually be judged. It simply referred, rather loftily, to social distancing and government policy.
In reality, the array of bollards has made little difference to social distancing while the contraflow bike lane has introduced another, unwelcome, hazard for cyclists. There has been no consideration of opening up parallel routes (Darborough Street/Cherry Street & St Benedict’s Road) which would at least have provided a much shorter diversion
Bishopthorpe Road lane closure. Petition calls for lane to be reopened.
Nor has the opportunity been taken, during a relatively quiet period, to test an off peak pedestrianisation of the shops area between 10:30am and 4:00pm. Such a scheme would also have aligned with the governments policies while also providing much more room for social distancing. The impacts both economic and on transportation would have provided some real food for thought.
Too late now though, as imminent road works in the Nunnery Lane area are set to cause even bigger traffic congestion problems with the bus services one likely early victim. Works on the nearby South Bank flood alleviation scheme (subject to a planning committee decisionnext week) will further add to transport woes in the area.
Not content with increasing pollution levels on Scarcroft Road the new diversion via the City centre will add over a mile to some journeys.
The Council says that residents can Email them with their views. The address is Bishrd@york.gov.uk
We doubt that many will bother. Rather the pressure for the Council to adopt an open and inclusive approach to decision making will mount. The Council leadership needs to move out of its bunker mentality and start to re-engage with the local community.
We saw in 2015 what happened when a particularly stubborn administration tried to force the Lendal Bridge closure on an unwilling population.
The same will happen again unless polices and attitudes change and change quickly.
Pleased to report that the Council has been out and about dealing with some of the issues that we have reported regarding weed growth. Several areas have been cleared this week including the little Green Lane garage forecourt. .
The Kingsway West garage forecourt area has been cleared of weeds.Weeds have been cleared from Hotham Avenue and Sandown Close (Windsor Garth)The Marston Avenue garage area is also now clear of weed growth
Still a lot to do. The next application of weedkiller is due at the end of the month.
We haven’t always been fans of those who anat to see grassed areas left to grow “wild”. One motivation has been to help pollinators (bees) but to often they have become eyesores packed with litter and potentially hazardous thorn bushes. One case in point are the long neglected verges in Foss Islands Road.
However there is an example of a planting scheme that has gone well on Hull Road. The roundabout there is a blase of colour this summer.
This is mainly down to the efforts of Cllr Mark Warters who is himself a professional horticulturalist.
He tells us, “
“Took many years of increasingly aggressive emails and ridicule to get CYC to stop putting bedding plants in twice a year, neglecting them to the point that they were waist high in weeds and half dead through lack of water to taking on board the idea of clearing it and sowing it down with a flower mix.
Last year was the first year, the tree in the centre was planted this year January time and the whole lot should have been oversown with a permanent wildflower Mix that should take over in time from the annuals.
However given how last year’s annual Mix has sown itself and proved to be very drought resistant, colourful and requiring little if any maintenance – dead stems cut over once in the Winter – it might be worth pursuing on other roundabouts to produce a better feature and save time and money.
We hope that Councillors in other parts of the City will follow this lead. The key clearly is to prepare and maintain beds properly.
Initially at least it is probably as much work as planting bedding plants. But the results are more resilient and – in the case of Hull Road at least – require little on going maintenance.
It seems that more and more paths are being impeded by overgrown hedges and trees. By and large, they are public landscaping hedges which have not been trimmed back for some time (They should have been done during the winter months).
There are particular problems at Clifton Moor (as we have reported previously). The whole estate really needs to be checked for issues before all the local stores and businesses reopen.
UPDATE – Just as we published we got the following response from SUSTRANs
Yes, we are aware of the problem with this path either side of the York / Selby boundary and at time of heightened usage of all of our traffic-free routes around York due to the coronavirus lockdown.
We’ve done some initial estimating of cost for the whole section that needs resurfacing, which comes to £446,000 approx. – a sum that Sustrans on its own cannot afford as I’m pleased to see you recognise
However, Selby DC (copied in) also have this on their radar and have indicated a strong willingness to work with ourselves and City of York to find the necessary funding.
I’m in discussion with land management / estates colleagues within Sustrans to identify how much we may be able to contribute, and therefore how much is needed from LA partners / other funding sources.
The fact you’ve now raised this with relevant City of York councillor’s is very helpful. We’ll continue to bring all parties together to come up a with funding package that can deliver the necessary improvement as soon as possible.
We’ve suggested to SUSTRANs that they launch a crowd funding appeal to raise money for resurfacing parts of the York – Selby cycle path.
The path is very uneven in places as a result of tree root damage. At one location, the roots have now broken through the bitmac surfacing increasing the hazards for cyclists and walkers.
Roots are now breaking through cycle track
SUSTRANS describe themselves as the custodians of thenational cycle network. It is possible to make a donation towards their work via their web page but we think that a more focused campaign is needed if the York cycle path is to be properly funded.
The path has been heavily used during the health crisis with large number taking the opportunity to take some exercise in what is a relatively safe space. Many young children are getting their first taste of cycling on the track. It is the latter group for whom the surface represents a particular hazard.
SUSTRANs have yet to respond but we have had a prompt reply from Cllr John Galvin who represents that Bishopthorpe ward, in which part of the track is located. He has pledged his support for the appeal.
Any work would need to incorporate the use of root shields to ensure that any new surface continues to be useable for the foreseeable future.
Uneven path surfaces deter use
Many of the problems occur in the section between Naburn and Riccall. We hope that the Government and local Councils will back the SUSTRANs charity if they launch a crowdfunding appeal.
Hopefully some donations will come from the hundreds of new users who are currently enjoying the facility.
NB. It appears that no application was made for support from the York Council’s £500,000 cycling budget which was delegated to be spent by local ward Councillors.
It isn’t just the Lowfields building site which is causing concerns for local residents. People living near a site on Windmill Lane – ironically also being built on playing fields – have also raised concerns about work going on during unauthorised hours.
All planning permissions list the permitted hours of work and these usually exclude Sundays while weekday working may be limited to 8:00am – 6:00pm.
Windmill Lane residents say that workers were on site from 7:30am on Sunday. There are also issues with heavy plant trying to access the site via unauthorised routes and well as concerns about wildlife conservation.
The problems will sound familiar to residents in the Lowfields area where more details of the Tudor Road closure- effective from 13th June – have been published.
Tudor Road entrance to Lowfields building site
“Normal working hours will be Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm. It would only be in exceptional circumstances or in case of emergencies that we would work any later or on Sunday’s. It is highly unlikely that there would be any overnight work.”
“For the first 2 weeks the road will be closed entirely in both directions but pedestrian access will be maintained. Vehicular access will be available for residents and deliveries in Tudor Road up to the point of where our works will be.”
“Access to the garages between 77 and 87 Tudor Road will not be obstructed as they are not directly in our working area. Any customers who will be impacted have been contacted by Barhale and will be consulted whilst the scheme is taking place to tray and minimise disruption.”
“Access will still be available to the homes near Gale lane from the Gale Lane side of Tudor Road. The works will only be in the vicinity of 59 to 69 Tudor Road.”
Dijon Avenue access to building site
“Equipment that will be used will include a 20 tonne excavator, 9 tonne dumper, hydraulic breaker, compaction and cutting equipment.”
“The compound will have a generator on site and will usually be off overnight. However, if there is wet and inclement weather it may be required to dry the teams clothing.”
HGVs seen accessing building site via Dijon Ave
Local Councillors say they’re pressing for improvements for pedestrians and cyclists in the area.
Local residents in Dijon Avenue are, however, already seeing large vehicles using the street even though the authorised access for Tudor Road is still currently open.
It is the time of year when drainage ditches and becks can become overgrown. When water volumes are generally low, it is important that the opportunity is taken to clear vegetation and debris from the channels.
That is particularly challenging at present because of coronavirus restrictions.
We were pleased to see that local Councillor Andrew Waller is pressing the Marston Moor IDB to ensure that maintenance work continues.
Failure to do so could lead to flooding when wet weather returns.
