Speed limits and accident levels in York

The media are today reporting a move to extend the use of 20 mph speed limits in the City. In reality most residential roads already have such a limit. Some, including the 20 mph limit in The Groves part of the Guildhall ward, were introduced about 20 years ago.  

Most were introduced 5 years ago at a cost of £600,000. Their supporters claimed that this would result in a reduction in accident levels.

In reality the numbers killed or seriously injured on our roads has remained stable at about 60 per year.

Most of the accidents occur outside residential areas with many on roads with 60 or 70m mph limits. A lot of information is shared on the Councils “open data” pages. This includes the background to each accident and details the type of vehicles involved, driver characteristics etc.

Paradoxically, average speeds on some roads actually increased after 20 mph limits were introduced. The road covered by 20 mph limits can be downloaded from the Councils web site click

So should we be worried about accident levels in the City?

One of the disappointments of recent years has been the lack of attention given by Executive Councillors to road safety strategy. Too often reports have been tabled along with other issues which have restricted the time given to analysing trends.

 The York Councils famously limp “scrutiny” process barely touches on the subject of road safety.

Unless local leaders engage more positively in addressing issues then we can expect 60 people to be seriously injured on our roads each year for the foreseeable future.

….and changes to speed limits? Technology change means that it will be possible to automatically govern vehicle speeds shortly.  This would allow speed limits to be varied to meet prevailing road conditions.

If speed is an issue in causing accidents (it isn’t in most cases) then technology might provide a new solution.

Volunteers refurbish Foxwood Lane kiddies play equipment

Nice to see the play equipment in the playground on Foxwood Lane being spruced up today. According to social media the volunteers who did the work were from the Food Standards Agency.

We’re hoping that the Council will ensure that repairs to playgrounds generally are undertaken quickly.

In addition it would be nice to see at least one piece of play equipment renewed each year. This would give children something new to look forward to while minimising the upheaval of complete modernisation every 20 years.

“We want to stay in our home” say York seniors

The Council has released details of responses to a survey of elderly persons needs which it conducted earlier in the year.

Asked where they would like to see out their days, the majority said that they wished to remain in their existing home.

Some said that they would like to move to a smaller property.

There was little enthusiasm for placements in traditional retirement homes.

Most of the 406 respondents were owner occupiers.  The lowest response rate came from the Westfield ward (the City’s poorest) and he highest from the Guildhall Ward

Clearly location is an important factor for many older people. They want to be close to amenities and are increasingly reluctant to drive.

This need conflicts with current Council planning policies which have allocated land near Front Street Acomb – which has a full range of amenities – for family housing.

With developers reluctant to even build elderly persons homes the emphasis should be on providing easy to manage homes at sites like Lowfield, Front Street, Long Close Lane etc.

The report will be discussed next week click

More than 8,000 local children to take part in Walk to School Week 2019

More than half of York’s primary schools will take part in Walk to School Week 2019, which runs from 14 to 18 October.

The national, awareness-raising event is staged annually and aims to encourage children and their families to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school, rather than travelling by car.

Locally, in excess of 8,000 students from 28 different schools will get involved. City of York Council’s iTravel team will present the Jack Archer Award to the school with the highest proportion of its students walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week, as well as cash to spend on sports equipment, which has been donated by Age UK. The Jack Archer Award is now in its sixteenth year and Age UK has supported the competition since it was first launched as part of its intergenerational work to encourage children to be more active.

Councillor Andy D’Agorne, the council’s Executive Member for Transport, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many local schools getting involved in Walk to School Week and competing for the Jack Archer Award.

“The council is committed to promoting sustainable forms of transport and it’s important that children are encouraged to adopt these habits from a young age. In addition to the health and wellbeing benefits for the children themselves, walking, cycling or scooting benefits everyone by reducing traffic congestion and emissions, and improving air quality.

“Good luck to all the schools taking part!”

Residents of all ages can find out more about sustainable travel options by visiting www.itravelyork.info.

Acomb small business event

A special event aimed at supporting small businesses outside the city walls is being hosted by City of York Council and the Federation of Small Businesses this month.

The event takes place on Monday 14 October between 5.30pm and 7.35pm at Acomb Gateway Church, Front Street, Acomb, YO24 3BZ.

During the event, Tony Webster will be talking about how his fish and chips shop in Bilbrough has become a must-visit destination for Chinese tourists.

Sally Parker of Pick and Mix Marketing will be presenting a piece on how to make businesses stand out on social media.

The council’s skills team will also be on hand to share how apprenticeships can benefit small businesses.

Carolyn Frank, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “York is packed full of small businesses and I welcome the council’s work to further engage with the business community via events like this.

“I hope that businesses will grasp the opportunity to come along and help shape local policy, to network at the event with other business owners, and to explore how we can all work together to make York a better place to do business. No business is too small to have a voice and collectively the small business community across York and its hinterland is vital to its economic development as a world leading city.” 

Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said: “We really want to support local businesses across York and help them grow and prosper. These workshops are a great opportunity for independent businesses to share their experiences, and talk through how we can better support them, and where appropriate to use this evidence to lobby for changes to help the high street to thrive.”

For information on how to register, click here

More missed bins

Council needs to “come clean” about the extent of its resourcing problems

Another day and another raft of missed bin collections.

Mostly the failures are down to inadequate staffing, unreliable vehicles and full lorries.

Yet the Council has so far failed to say when replacement vehicles will arrive in the city.

…and there is a growing suspicion that other services are being depleted in a desperate attempt to plug the gaps in the waste collection service. One estate still has litter strewn around from collections which took place weeks ago.

No post recycling litter pick today (or for some time)
Many litter bins are overflowing

What’s on in York: “Hungate – The First 2000 Years” Peter Connelly Lecture

16th October

6:15 pm – 7:45 pm

Venue: Friargate Meeting House, Castlegate, York YO1 9RN

 £10.00

The archaeology of Hungate, York has provided evidence for at least 2000 years of continuous human connection to this low lying parcel of land nestled in the Foss valley.

During his talk Peter will trace these connections from the use of the area as a Roman cemetery on the edge of Eboracum, through the organised development on the fringes of Viking Age Jorvik and onwards across time to the start of the 20th century when Hungate was called home by a large working class community.

By illustrating the perspective of the last 2000 years, Peter will reveal how certain choices in the past have influenced the development of the Hungate, we see today. He will finish his talk with a personal view of how contemporary decisions, may influence the development of Hungate in the future.

Tickets

York Council advertises for graffiti removers

Some signs today that the York Council has finally woken up to the decline in street environment standards. Two new staff will be employed to remove graffiti form public areas. The cost will be over £40,000.

This is “failure cost” of course.

Taxpayers will be annoyed that they are having to fund a reaction to an unlawful activity. There has been precious little evidence that any attempt has been made to identify, prosecute and seek compensation from those responsible.

Nevertheless, we cannot tolerate graffiti, which blights the environment so it is a positive move by the Council.

Hopefully we will soon also see effective action now to deal with other issues like weed blight, over grown hedges/trees and litter.

Litter problems in sub urban areas – and particularly Council estates – are getting worse. A combination of poor management and cuts to staffing levels have created a “perfect storm”.

Residents Associations, who have raised concerns about the situation on our Council estates, have received no response from those responsible.

If action is not taken quickly then formal complaints about the insensitivity of some officials and Councillors will not doubt, follow.