The good and the bad of decision making at the York Council

The present administration at the York Council was elected on a raft of manifesto promises which included a commitment to improved street level public service standards as well as to more open decision making.

They rightly aimed to achieve this by delegating more decisions so that they could be taken at community level.

In practice ward Councillors were given more neighbourhood responsibilities supported by an enhanced budget.

Additional funding was made available for general improvements. The Housing Estate improvement budget processes were also changed in an attempt to give those areas that did not have a residents association a share of the available resources.

Although progress in delivering schemes which were identified in the summer has been painfully slow, at least some attempt has been made to provide more transparency. The latest list of approved schemes can be downloaded (link). It lacks update information on implementation progress but it is better than was provided by the last Council.

Decisions are now being publicised on a regular basis. The latest was agreed at the end of February (click)

Latest approvals

Its a great shame though that that the new delegated budget – totalling £1 million – and intended for highway, cycle and footpaths improvements has not produced any tangible results. The condition of several local highways is now very poor, yet the budget remains unused.

The Council today published what purported to be a delegated decision (which has apparently been approved by a senior manager) detailing  how the budget will be used. However anyone viewing the Council web site would still be unable to see a list of the roads which might benefit. It simply says that the schemes  are located in the Fulford and Derwent Wards.

There are poorly maintained road surfaces across the City

This really isn’t good enough.

Road requiring attention were identified by local residents over 6 months ago.   That is long enough to allow for resurfacing to be arranged. 

We are now within 3 weeks of the end of the financial year.

Pedestrian crossings in York – how safe?

Recent accidents at pedestrian crossings in York have prompted one commentator to question whether the low level signs, installed at many crossings over the last 10 years, are the best option.

The more traditional high level “green man” signs located on the opposite side of the road are arguably easier to monitor while walking across the road.

It has also been suggested that countdown clocks – indicating how much time is left for a pedestrian to finish crossing the road – are worth installing as a trial in the City.

They are in use in other areas such as Torquay.

More road closures in The Groves area

Residents working with the council are being consulted on plans for extra road closures in The Groves residential area to stop through traffic.

The Council claims it will  improve the community’s air quality. However no figures on the impact on the volume and speed of  vehicles displaced onto the rest of the network have been provided. 

Slower moving traffic generally results in increases in pollution levels.

There are also concerns about the impact  that the scheme will have on emergency service vehicles. Some use the streets to access the York hospital.

The council considered and approved the principle of road closures in October 2019, subject to design.

Now, the Council says local people are being invited to a drop-in session to look at proposals to create four new road closures – in addition to two existing ones – to be introduced this spring.

“These will redirect drivers from The Groves’ narrow streets and on to the main road network in the area. Bikes and pedestrians will be able to get past the blocks and there will be space provided for turning vehicles at the closure positions”.

Local residents are invited to a drop-in session to chat to senior and ward councillors and council officers about the plans on Monday 17 February 2020, 6.30-8:30pm at Park Grove School.

Local residents can share their thoughts and ideas by emailing thegrovestrial@york.gov.uk or posting them to City of York Council, The Groves Trial Team, West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA

Traffic signals to be upgraded on Holgate road junction

Works will start on Monday 24 February and are expected to be fully completed by Thursday 12 March, working between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday and 8am and 4pm at weekends.

The scheme at the junction will include replacing outdated traffic (pedestrian crossing) signals with new, more reliable ones and installing a new puffin style pedestrian crossing.

The five year traffic signal asset renewal programme was given the green light by the council in November 2015 at a public meeting.

The total replacement programme will cost £2.620m over six years and will be funded through the capital programme budget and the existing Local Transport Plan budget.

Residents are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for their journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible.

To allow for the works to be undertaken safely it will be necessary to close a lane and operate temporary traffic signals during part of the work. This also means that Watson Street will be under signal control also.

A controlled crossing will be provided during construction to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely.

Pedestrian routes and access to all businesses and properties will be retained throughout the duration of the works.  It will be necessary to temporarily close footways in the works area at certain times during the works and footway diversion routes will be put in place.

Although every attempt will be made to keep delays to a minimum, motorists are expected to experience delays while the works are underway  Those using the junction are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible.

For any enquiries regarding these works please email: tsar@york.gov.uk

Number 12 bus service link to Bellhouse Way will continue “until the beginning of April”

It looks like a worrying 3 months for users of the number 12 (and 3a) bus service with the Council set to continue to agonise about their future.

A “behind closed doors” decision was taken to extend the current temporary contract. The report does, however, say that the cost of continuing to provide the services exceeds the available budget so a difficult decision may be faced in April.

The indecision about continuing the service comes at a time when the Council is being urged to subsidise more bus services in an attempt to counter the “climate emergency”.

If established services like these are under threat, then there is little hope that more funding will be found to provide more frequent services and fill in other gaps in the network.

Newbury Avenue bungalows set to get first tenants

The Council has provided an electric vehicle recharging point  in the car park of the new bungalows which are reached completion in Newbury Avenue.

The bungalows look very smart, albeit completion of the work is behind schedule. The original decision to knock down the garages which were on the site was controversial because the York Council failed to address the chronic lack of off street parking lay-bys in the estate. The parking problem has continued to grow

Electric charging points are set to become a standard feature of new homes in the City.

The Council will consider shortly a report which looks at how electric vehicle charging point availability can be improved across the whole City.

Amongst the issues considered are the difficulties for electric car owners who live in terraced streets with no off street space available.

One suggesting might see charging points added to street lighting columns – although the costs of implementing such a programme would be huge.

Council progress on Public Rights of Way

A council report says that all but one outstanding applications, for a Public Rights of Way in the City, have now been processed for a decision.

Council barriers used to obstruct public right of way

Unfortunately the outstanding application is the one for Acomb Moor (the link from Foxwood Lane to Osprey Close).

The Council promised to determine this by the end of February.

Following our story yesterday, were advised that the Osprey Close footpath obstruction has resulted from drainage works undertaken in the area.

The residents association is pressing local Councillors to provide a hardcore surface to ensure that walkers can at least get past the mud.

In that respect the path provided by the Council for the Hawkshead Close access into the wood.

Leaf detritus needs to be swept from Osprey Close footpaths

NB. We’ve asked for the Osprey Close area to be swept to remove tree detritus and the remains of last years weed growth which can still be found in some gutters.

Some weeds still obstructing drainage gullies.