Night time closure of A1237 northern by pass and Wetherby Road starts on 19th November

Work on Wetherby Road roundabout  Overnight closures for 10 days 

City of York Council will be carrying out surfacing works at the above said location commencing on Monday 19th November 2018 for a period of 10 days including Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting).

The works will be carried out between 8.00pm – 6.00am. The roads will remain open as normal outside the above hours.

There will be further works following on from this period but these will be carried out under lane closures and temporary signals with the A1237 and Wetherby Rd remaining open.

In order to carry out the works safely the use of a temporary road closure on the A1237 from the roundabout at A59 to the roundabout at Askham Lane and the closure of Wetherby Road from the junction of Beckfield Lane to the junction of Grange Lane (rural) will be necessary whilst works are taking place.

See plan below for location of closed off area which is shown in red.

Outside of working hours the road will remain open as normal.

Clearly signed diversion routes will be set out for local and through traffic . The closure is to ensure that adequate Health and Safety is maintained for both local residents, the travelling public and the Contractor. Site staff will be on hand to advise and assist residents about the access restrictions once the works are ongoing. Your assistance will be much appreciated.

Emergency services will be permitted through the works in any situation. Cyclists will be subject to the same traffic management as other road user vehicles.

Now Hope Street residents join clamour for York Council to invest more in road and footpath repairs

Following yesterdays appeal by residents living in Welborne Close for improvements to roads and footpaths in their area, people living in Hope Street have added their voices to the campaign.

In the City centre street, which lies close to Walmgate, parts of the carriageway have  worn away with the surface of the road now turning to dust. This is particularly dangerous for cycle and moped riders.

Footpaths also have become a patchwork of temporary reinstatements.

The Council will be considering its budget plans for next year shortly and campaigners will be seeking a substantial increase in allocations for road and footpath resurfacing across the City.

Still no action on weeds

Although the Councils contractor was seen last week on his quad bike spraying weeds in some areas, action elsewhere is still awaited.

The are particular issues on cul de sacs and snickets (neither of which are accessible on a quad bike!).

Weeds Kngsway West cul de sac

Weeds Kingsway West cul de sac

We’ve reported dumping Windsor Garth

Andrew Waller points out much needed speed hump repairs on Ascot Way. We are pleased to see that this programme is underway

Good work evident in Westfield as schools return

Road resurfaced, white lines refreshed and a “gateway” painted on the highway near the entrance to Westfield School. School crossing patrol also working efficiently. Good work by the school and ward Councillors

Hardcore has been put down under the access gate to the Westfield Place sports field. Previously the area had been subject to flooding. More good work by the Council

Reported full paper and can banks at Acomb car park at 3:15pm today. Also some fly tipping. Message back from the Council at 3:30pm saying “issue solved” Gasp!

Road works start on Askham Lane as weeds cut back from bus stop

Work has started on repairing Askham Lane.

The works at Askham Lane will start on Monday 20 August, between the hours of 9.15am and 5pm, and are estimated to finish on Friday 24 August.

In order to carry out these works safely, temporary road closures will need to be put in place. For the Askham Lane works this will include a temporary road closure from the junction of Askham Grove to the Ridgeway roundabout.

At times the junctions of Askham Grove and Grange Lane will also be closed.

Some disruption is expected although it is hoped to finish the work before the new school term starts.

Up to date details can be found  here  https://roadworks.org/

Askham Lane

Also on Askham Lane, the Council have begun to tackle the perennial problems of weeds overgrowing the bus shelter.

“Resurface our roads” say York residents

£8.4 million budget allocated but disappointment for sub-urban areas

The York Council has announced which roads and footpaths will be resurfaced during 2018/19.

There is good news for Askham Lane, Middlethorpe Grove, Skelton, Marygate and the national cycle route 66 (which will get a £1/4 million resurface).

Much of the rest of the budget is taken up by the continuing street light upgrade programme, with £100,000 to be spent on remedying fibre excavation reinstatements  and £400,000 on City Walls repairs (up by 25%)

School Street – City’s worst carriageway?

The Council says that the priorities were determined following surveys.

“In order to produce the programme of highway works for each year, information is drawn from a number of sources:

· Visual safety survey of all our roads and footways.

 · Digital condition survey of all our roads and footways

· Detailed condition survey of all our roads and footways.

 · United Kingdom Pavement Management System (UKPMS) visual and machine surveys

The survey records five condition categories, being grade 1 (very good), grade 2 (good), grade 3 (fair), grade 4 (poor) and grade 5 (very poor).

The City of York Council commission the service of Gaist Solutions Limited who carried out a detailed video survey of the whole of the council adopted highway network. The survey was utilised to assess the condition of all parts of the network.

Poor roads and footpaths that didn’t make the resurfacing list

 Each road and footway is assessed and given a ranking (score) based on a range of criteria, all metrics of the network were collated and a treatment solution was determined.

The Council goes on to say that further assessments will be undertaken to identify the impacts that have arisen from the long spells of freezing conditions during winter 2017/18. Where necessary works programmes may be amended to address any change in risk arising from reductions in highway asset condition because of this

Nevertheless some residents may be bewildered when they find that their local footpath has not been included in the programme. Path surfaces in streets like St Stephens Square and Ridgeway are now very uneven.

Probably the worst carriageway in the City is School Street in Acomb which doesn’t get a mention.

There will be pressure for the council to publish the “score” that each road received when surveyed.  

Complacent York highways maintenance report rapped

Potholes on the increase

A curiously complacent report on how the York Council has conducted its highways maintenance duties over the last year has just been published.

The reports list a series of successes.

However, it pointedly fails to admit that;

  • Potholes now pose a significant risk for road users and have done for several months
  • Promised resurfacing schemes simply didn’t happen with residents being left in the dark about the delays
  • Broadband network installation works have left verges and paths in a shoddy condition

    Cable works have damaged verges and footpaths

A new executive member has now assumed responsibility for highways (Cllr Dew). His appointment was part of the general “merry go round” of changes initiated by local Conservatives.

It is to be hoped he won’t be duped into thinking that all is well with highway maintenance in the City of York.

NB. The resurfacing programme for the new 2018/19 financial year still hasn’t been published by the Council. In previous years residents were able to see what was planned before the year started.

York to benefit from pothole fund boost

Tudor Road pothole

City of York Council will benefit from a share of a further £100m fund to repair potholes and storm damage, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced today (Monday, March 26).

The City of York will get over £256,000 to repair the roads following this winter’s adverse weather when road temperatures across York dropped as low as -5.9 degrees and froze on many more occasions than a normal year.    Across the North East, local authorities will benefit from over £4.5m in total.

In addition to a pothole repair fund, we will receive £72,000 to build on our pothole spotter trial aimed at improving road safety by revolutionising the way potholes are identified and managed. The trial will explore the use of high definition remote monitoring to allow for accurate and more frequent surveying of the local road network.

Askham Lane pothole

The pothole-spotter system is mounted to refuse collection vehicles comprised of high-definition cameras, an integrated navigation system and intelligent software.   In addition, residents are encouraged to report potholes at https://doitonline.york.gov.uk/mapeforms/Eform/Highways . Several dozen have been reported – mianly in west York – over the weekend

Idyllic scenes on the Ouse BUT…

Cyclists will be hoping that the York Council’s announcement that £500,000 will be spent upgrading major cycle routs in the City will allow for work to be undertaken on the York – Selby path. In places, the popular leisure route has become very uneven following the ravages of winter.

River Ouse at Naburn today. Well within its banks

Snow melt has caused large ponds to form on low woodland

The cycle track is still scarred by graffiti and dumping. The Council no longer clears graffiti unless it is judged to be obscene.