Winter will be with us soon now and with it the risk of icy weather. Frost damage, to a poorly maintained highway surface, can be devastating making expensive reconstruction work inevitable.
Residents are being urged to report any potholes so that they can receive attention. There is rightly some scepticism amongst residents with reported highway defects often marked up with paint but then seemingly left for months before work is undertaken
City of York Council will carry out resurfacing works on Towthorpe Road and Burton Stone Lane from next week.
The works on Burton Stone Lane will take place from Monday 14 October for approximately four weeks. This will include the junction of Crichton Avenue up to the junction of Burton Green.
The works will take place during the daytime between 8am and 6pm. In order to carry out the works safely, the use of a temporary road closure from the junction of Crichton Avenue to the junction of Burton Green will be necessary.
This road closure will remain in operation 24/7 until works are complete. All onsite parking will be suspended during this period.
Works will be carried out in short sections on a rolling process to minimise disruption to residents. Where works are taking place across junctions, into cul-de-sacs, works will be carried out in in two sections to let residents in and out. Please be advised that there will be periods where no access in or out will be allowed.
The works on Towthorpe Road will start on Monday 7 October and will take up to five days (weather permitting). These will include resurfacing the road and the reinstatement of all road markings and will be carried out between 9.15am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
In order to carry out these works safely the use of a temporary road closure from the junction of Mallard Way to a point 50m north of West Nooks junction will be necessary whilst works are taking place.
A clearly signed diversion route will be set out for through traffic. Site staff will be on hand to advise and assist residents about the access restrictions once the works are ongoing.
All on street parking will be suspended at these times but any specific access requirements maybe arranged by speaking to the site traffic management operatives who will co-ordinate with residents and business requirements around ongoing construction operations.
Any vehicle remaining on the street during the suspension time may be liable to a parking fine and removal costs.
Household waste and recycling collections will take place before 9.15am so please have all containers and bins out by 7am on the day of collection. Buses will be diverted during working hours via Station Road and Calf Close.
In addition to the above, the council will be carrying out kerbing and drainage works on 30 September for a period of 5 days working 9.15am and 5pm Monday to Friday. These works will be carried out under local traffic management, will not affect access and the road will be open as normal.
For both schemes, emergency services will be permitted through the works at all times. Cyclists will have to dismount and use the footways.
As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience to the public, however the council will try at all times to keep any disruption to a minimum.
Ageing and outdated traffic signals on The Mount are set to be replaced and pedestrian and cycle routes improved by City of York Council this month.
Ageing and outdated traffic signals on The Mount are set to be replaced and pedestrian and cycle routes improved by City of York Council this month.
Works will start on the junction of The Mount / Dalton Terrace / Albemarle Road and The Mount / Scarcroft Road on Monday 7 October and are estimated to take up to seven weeks to complete.
New, more reliable, traffic signals will be installed and improvements will be made to the pedestrian crossing to introduce a new Toucan crossing over Albemarle Road. The eastern pedestrian footway / off road cycle route will also be resurfaced.
The new technology being installed will help to improve journey times and reliability on The Mount and ease congestion in the area.
The new traffic signals will also be cheaper to run and more reliable. It will also enable the new systems to link direct to the council’s Traffic and Control Centre, so that the Network Monitoring Officers can manage the flow of traffic better in busy periods by adjusting traffic lights to best suit traffic conditions.
Work will be carried out weekdays between 9.30am to 4.30pm and on Saturdays and Sundays 8am to 4pm. Temporary signals replicating, as closely as possible, the current operation of the junction will be in place throughout the works.
Works will be suspended between Friday 12 and Saturday 13 October for York races.
During the works it is anticipated that there will be significant delays when travelling through the junction.
A temporary signalised crossing will be provided during construction to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. Pedestrian route, cycle routes and access to all businesses and properties will be retained throughout the duration of the works.
Those using the route are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will be operating as normal for the majority of the. Visit www.itravelyork.info/ for traffic and travel information.
City of York Council will be carrying out overnight roadworks to resurface Bishopthorpe Road over two stages.
The first stage will take place over four nights between 30 September and 4 October. The second stage will take place over four nights between 15 October and 19 October (weather permitting) between 7pm till 5am.
For the overnight works on 30 September, crews will be resurfacing of the Bishopthorpe Road / Scarcroft Road junction.
This is following the completion of the junction improvement scheme to replace all the ageing traffic signal equipment, create a new pedestrian crossing, remove the small central triangular island on Bishopthorpe Road and widen/resurface the footway. Find out more about this scheme here: www.york.gov.uk/BishyRd
For the overnight works from 15 October, a temporary road closure from Church Lane to Middlethorpe Hall Hotel will be necessary whilst works are taking place, in order to carry out these works safely.
During this time there will be no access to or from the car park.
A clearly signed diversion route will be set out for through traffic. All on street parking will be suspended at these times but any specific access requirements may be arranged. Any vehicle remaining on the street during the suspension time may be liable to a parking fine and removal costs.
Household waste and recycling collections will take place as normal.
Bus Service 11 will to divert via Tadcaster Road, Sim Balk Lane, Main Street, resuming normal route at Acaster Lane. Returning to York it would turn left from Appleton Road into Sim Balk Lane rather than continuing along Main St.
In addition to the above, the council will be carrying out kerbing and drainage works on 9 to 11 October working 9.15am – 4pm. These works will be carried out under local traffic management and will not affect access on this road, which will be open as normal.
Emergency services will be permitted through the works at all times. Cyclists will have to dismount and use the footways.
As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience to the public, however the council will try at all times to keep any disruption to a minimum.
Bishopthorpe Road between the junctions of Bishopthorp Road / Charlton Street and the junction of Bishopthorpe Road / Scarcroft Road will be temporarily closed from 12noon today [16 September].
The juction will be re-opened as soon as possible once City of York Council has carried out investigations and repairs to a sink hole which appeared under the carriageway over the weekend. Until further investigations are carried out it is not known how long the work will take to be completed.
A diversion route is in place for travellers and will follow Campleshon Road / Kanvesmire Road / Tadcaster Road / The Mount / Scarcroft Road.
Bus passengers are asked to visit www.itravelyork.info for more information on how the closure will impact on their journey.
James Gilchrist, Assistant Director of Transport, Highways and Environment, City of York Council, said: “We apologise for the inconvenience this emergency closure will cause. We are working with our contractors to resolve the issue as soon as possible and will update travellers on timescales as soon as possible.”
City of York Council will carry out resurfacing works on Hawthorn Grove and Mill Lane between Monday 16 and Friday 27 September.
The works on Hawthorne Grove will take place between Monday 16 to Friday 20 September, between 7.30pm and 5am.
This will require a road closure from, and including, the mini-roundabout at Harcourt Street up to, but not including, the Eboracum Way junction. Mill Lane will also be closed but residents’ access will be maintained via Heworth Green.
The works on Mill Lane will be carried out between Monday 23 and Friday 27 September between 8am and 5pm. There will be a road closure from Heworth Green up to, but not including, the mini-roundabout at Harcourt Street.
The works will consist of resurfacing the road and the reinstatement of all road markings. In order to carry out these works safely the use of temporary road closures will be necessary whilst works are taking place. A clearly signed diversion route will be set out for all traffic.
All on street parking will be suspended at these times but any specific access requirements may be arranged by speaking to the site traffic management operativesm who will co-ordinate with residents and business requirements around ongoing construction operations.
Any vehicle remaining on the street during the suspension time may be liable to a parking fine and removal costs.
Household waste and recycling collections will take place as normal. For Mill Lane, residents are asked to ensure bins are placed on the kerbside by 7am on the day of collection.
During the closure of Hawthorn Grove, bus service 6 will be diverted via Eboracum Way, Heworth Green, Heworth Road, and Melrosegate (not serving Fifth Ave or Fourth Ave). Coastliner will be diverted via Eboracum Way, Heworth Green (not serving East Parade or Heworth Road).
In addition to the above, the council will be carrying out kerbing and drainage works between Monday 9 and 13 September on Hawthorn Grove working 9.15am – 4pm and also on Mill Lane on Monday 16 to Saturday 21 September working 9.15am – 4pm.
During these works the road will be open as normal to travel through, but all on street parking will need to be suspended during these times.
Emergency services will be permitted through the works at all times. Cyclists will have to dismount and use the footways.
As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience to the public, however the council will try at all times to keep any disruption to a minimum.
Coppergate one way traffic restrictions in place from Sunday, for up to 8 weeks
One way traffic restrictions will be put in place on Coppergate, located in the city centre of York, for up to 8 weeks from this Sunday (1 September).
This is in order for the owner of a privately owned property to carry out maintenance works on Coppergate.
These works require scaffolding and due to the narrow width of footpath and carriageway in that location, City of York Council is required to put a one way traffic system in place for the duration of the works.
From Sunday 1 September vehicles (with the exception of cyclists) will only be able to travel on Coppergate one way westbound with diversions for eastbound traffic via Tower Street and Piccadilly.
There will be a lane set out for cyclists at the Piccadilly end of Coppergate at the signals.
All eastbound bus routes which normally use Coppergate will divert via Clifford Street, Tower Street and Piccadilly.
Delays are expected at peak times, so please allow extra time for your journey. Visitwww.itravelyork.info for more information about bus journeys.
The restrictions have been planned to be put in place for up to 8 weeks, although the works are likely to be removed earlier if the works are completed.
Ageing and outdated traffic signals at the junction of Bishopthorpe Road and Scarcroft Road are set to be replaced next month by City of York Council, as part of a scheme to help improve pedestrian access and ease congestion in the area.
The works will include replacing all the ageing traffic signal equipment, creating a new pedestrian crossing on Bishopthorpe Road, removing the small central triangular island on Bishopthorpe Road and widening/resurfacing the footway.
Works will start on Monday 9 September and are estimated to take around four weeks to complete. The hours of working will be 9.30am – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays.
In order to safely construct part of the work some evening works may be required. Notification of these will be provided in advance.
Works will be suspended between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 September due to the York Balloon Fiesta.
The new technology being installed will help to manage traffic in the area and enable the new systems to link direct to the council’s Traffic and Control Centre, so that Network Monitoring Officers can manage the flow of traffic better in busy periods.
The right turn from Scarcroft Road to Bishopthorpe Road will be closed during the works and diversion routes will be in place.
During the works it is anticipated that all bus services will operate as normal, however there will be delays when travelling through the junction.
The junction will be operating under temporary signals during the works and motorists are expected to experience delays while the works are underway.
The York Council says that it will give more powers to local residents to influence how resources are used in 4 key public service areas.
They are:
Increased ward budgets.
A “Safer Communities” fund to meet residents’ priorities.
More ward control of spending on highways to meet
residents’ priorities
Timely delivery of Housing Environmental
Improvement Schemes (HEIP). NB.These are tenant funded.
The plans are
broadly to be welcomed.
Over the last 8
years the number of locally determined improvement schemes has declined while those
that have been approved have faced unacceptable delays in implementation.
One set of new parking
laybys in the Westfield area took over 4 years to plan and construct.
Askham Lane lay by took 4 years to complete
A reportto the Councils executive meeting this week, paints a confused picture of what is wrong with the current “ward committee” process and what might replace it.
Councillor
dominated “Ward teams” will stand in for residents associations where the latter
do not exist.
£250,000 has been allocated to wards for them to spend making local communities “safer”. Although joint working with the police is proposed, the major issue – an institutional reluctance to expand the use of technology solutions such as CCTV – remains. So, the most that residents will likely see will be “target hardening” style initiatives.
Two additional staff
members are to be employed helping to administer ward committee improvements. Last
year £157,000 of ward budget was not spent. This is put down to process delays.
£500,000 is being allocated for local highways improvements (road and footpaths). A further £500,000 is allocated for “walking and cycling” improvements. The irony, that better highways maintenance is the best way of encouraging safe walking and cycling, appears to be lost on the report authors.
Perhaps School Street will now be resurfaced?
The £1 million simply
should be added to the road and footpath resurfacing budget.
The budget is classified
as “capital” meaning that it must be spent on an asset with a long lifespan.
That would seem to rule out a crash programme aimed at removing the trees, hedges
and weeds which obstruct many existing foot and cycle paths.
The idea of recognising and responding to local concerns is the right one though.
Poor highway maintenance is invariably the most criticised local public service in residents satisfaction polls.
The Council plans to introduce a “6 stage” process in allocating the estate improvement budget. As the main criticisms of the existing process is that it is cumbersome and slow, the introduction of additional bureaucratic stages is unlikely to be welcomed.
The report talks of the provision of parking lay-by taking up to 24 months to complete. In the past, the use of contractors had cut this target time down to less than 4 months. Councils should return to the old procedure where Residents Associations/Parish Councils took responsibility for drawing up improvement lists.
Walton Place footpaths need repairs
Finally, the report
talks of using a mechanistic formulae for assessing the “social value” of each
project. As a way of spending scarce public resources this is a discredited
approach. The value of projects can best be determined by door to door surveys thus
giving residents a chance to directly influence their neighbourhood.
The report does not propose any PFIs to monitor progress on any of these programmes.
It does, however, require decisions to be made in public and with a public record. Regular “on line” updates are proposed (although these have been promised in the past but have never been produced in a timely or accessible way)
There are no proposals
which would provide better support for Residents Associations. The Council
recently refused to even publicise RA activities on its web site.
How much locally?
The Council has published a list indicating the amounts that will be available to spend in each ward. In Westfield (one of the largest wards) during the present financial year that totals £55,878
With highways (£63,830)
and safer communities fund (£17,181). That figure increases to nearly £120,000
over 4 years.
To put that into context a 4 space parking bay
costs around £10,000, while the resurfacing of Stonegate is costing £1/2
million this year.
