Includes further refinement of number 12 service
Changes affect following services. Click for detailed timetable
Chapelfields – Wigginton service 1
Clifton Moor – York Uni service 6
Bishopthorpe – Heworth service 11
Foxwood – Woodthorpe – Monks Cross service 12
We’ve been asked to publish a link to an interactive map of the cycle network
It can be found by clicking here
The York Council has added details of the results of its surveys of local carriageway and footpath condition to an on line map.
You can see the rating for every street in York. Red means very poor.
Then click “street care” from the drop down list
Then tick the appropriate boxes e.g “Highways annual condition survey 2019 – Highways” & “Highways annual condition survey 2019 – Footpaths”
You can focus down to street level.
NB. Part of Gale Lane is being resurfaced next week.
We’ve cycled the whole length of the cycle track now. Certainly a lot safer than using the B1224. Around 3 miles in length.
It narrows on the section near Harewood Whin where it is an unmodified footpath. There is room to pass.
Only one secured gate on the route (near the A1237 junction). Rest are easy to navigate.
Ironically the roughest surface is on Milestone Avenue in Rufforth. This forms the public highway access to the cycle path. Small cafe in Rufforth provides refreshments.
Pleasant ride in summer although the nearby clay pigeon shooting range is at little noisy!
The promised new cycle link from York (Knapton) to Rufforth has been completed. The last section involved the modification of an underpass crossing the A1237 to allow for safe access for pedestrians and cyclists.
Previously the tunnel had been used mainly by cattle.
Signage has yet to be installed on the route although it is already being used extensively by pedestrians.
An interactive map published this weekend by the government indicates that York is in the top 20% of areas providing vehicle charging points.
It is similarly placed in a table showing rapid charger availability.
The figures are slightly less good for the number of charges per 1000 head of population
No information has been published on charger reliability or the average waiting times that motorists face when they need to charge their vehicles.
The following information has been provided by the Council in response to complaints about lack of consultation about the removal of cycle parking from Parliament Street. It would have been better if the information had been published a couple of months ago rather than the day after the racks disappeared!!
“The old individual cycle racks are being removed this week and will be replaced with ones on rails. Any bikes which have been left locked to a rack will be removed to the Council’s secure store.
What is happening? – The old individual cycle racks are being replaced with ones on rails where the racks are spaced wider apart that the current ones (1200mm as opposed to 800mm). As construction of the cabins for the Christmas Market will start later this week (02/12/19) the new racks will be temporarily relocated to the following locations:
When are the old racks being removed? – The racks are being removed on the 29th October. Notices were placed on the affected racks a week in advance to forewarn users of their imminent removal. Any cycles which have been left locked to a rack will be removed to the Council’s secure store. Anyone wishing to reclaim a cycle should contact network.management@york.gov.uk to arrange collection.
Why is this work being done? – Following last year’s Christmas Market concerns were raised by the city centre safety advisory group about the relatively few accesses / exits from the central area and the narrowness of these accesses. In order to enable the cabins to be better laid out and to increase the number and width of the accesses / exits it has been agreed that the cycle parking will be temporarily removed for the duration of the large events which take place on Parliament Street including the Christmas Market and Food & Drink Festival.
The racks will be relocated to the above locations during the event and then reinstalled on Parliament Street as soon as possible after the event. At this stage it is not envisaged that the cycle parking will need to be relocated during the Yorkshire Fringe Festival or smaller markets. In previous years several of the racks were unavailable during large events because cabins or marquees were installed immediately next to them therefore cycle parking capacity was reduced.
By relocating the racks elsewhere in the city centre there should be no net loss of capacity during these busy events.
We reported last week that several of the Council owned bus shelters in west York were looking shabby. Some were overgrown with weeds and undergrowth.
We are pleased to report that, following our highlighting the issue to the York Council , some of the shelters have been tidied up. Undergrowth has been cut back from the shelters making them much more user friendly.
However the work undertaken has also served to emphasise how much these shelters need a coat of paint and other refurbishment.
Many are now rusting quite badly.
We were also pleased to see for the first time for some time today that the Cornlands Park was largely free of litter.
There seems to be a slow improvement in some public service standards in the City following a disappointing summer.
• The East Coast Main Line is a key strategic rail route, stretching more than 500 miles, from Inverness and Aberdeen, through key stops at Edinburgh, Newcastle and York to London
Councillors are calling on the UK and Scottish governments to secure funding for Network Rail to improve reliability with significant economic benefits
The Consortium of East Coast Mainline Authorities (ECMA) is calling on the UK and Scottish governments to invest in the East Coast Main Line, after research conducted on behalf of ECMA identified over £60 million of economic benefits per year through punctuality and reliability improvements on the line.
A third of the UK population lives within 20 minutes of an East Coast Main Line station and together they deliver 41% of the UK’s GDP. However, constraints on the line can lead to significant disruption and in 2018, 12 major incidents occurred costing the UK economy £46.28 million. Each major incident equates to a full loss of service per day and this unreliability is one of the contributing factors to the Public Performance Measure* (PPM) of the East Coast Main Line dropping below 80% for the first time in 10 years.
Localised and smaller incidents can also cause significant disruption across the rail network but if the number of delays on the line over 10 minutes were halved, this would deliver an additional £62.8 million per annum to the wider economy.
In June 2018, the Government announced £780 million of investment for the East Coast Main Line in Control Period 6 (2019-2024), which will reduce journey times on key flows and provide new direct links to some cities and towns. However, the majority of this work will be completed by 2021 with no current plans for further improvements or resources to fund them.
ECMA members are calling on the government to identify additional funding to help tackle issues of capacity and resilience on the line, with Network Rail indicating that they have the capacity to undertake further work to improve the East Coast Main Line from 2021, if they can secure additional funding.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council and Chair of ECMA, said:
“Investment in the East Coast Main Line will deliver economic benefits across the country from the Highlands to Hertfordshire and means customers benefit from better reliability and greater resilience.
“Currently, the line is vulnerable to major disruptions which is why ECMA is calling on the UK and Scottish governments to secure addition funding for Network Rail to deliver a more reliable rail network for customers.”
Cllr Andy D’Agorne, Deputy Leader of City of York Council and Executive Member for Transport, said:
“York’s rail connectivity is a key asset to the city’s residents and businesses and a world-class transport hub which contributes significantly to our city’s economy. The ability to visit and do business with cities like London or Edinburgh in a day is a substantial benefit to the region which relies on this infrastructure being fit for purpose.
“It is vital that this much needed, sustainable transport network is given the care and investment it deserves to serve the populations up and down the country for years to come.”
In a letter sent to the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland, members of ECMA are calling on the governments to invest in the East Coast Main Line, and in particular:
A report recommends road closures on Lowther Street and Penleys Grove Street in the wake of complaints about safety and emission issues.
The report fails to provide any accident information either for the streets affected or the “alternative” routes (Lord Mayors Walk, Dodsworth Avenue etc.) which will see increases in traffic volumes.
Nor are any “before” or target “after” air pollution figures provided
Without these it will be impossible to judge whether any change could be judged a success.
The area is already covered by a 20-mph speed limit (one of the oldest in York).
What can be said is that the “short cutting” traffic is intrusive, noisy and can cause vibrations particularly in streets with traffic calming road humps. Residents living on the affected streets would certainly enjoy an improved quality of life.
The quid pro quo of course is that the road closures would also increase journey length and durations for many car trips from and to The Groves.
The traffic impact figures – assessed using the Councils sophisticated computer model – are expressed in very cautious terms. It is almost as if officials had discovered that the peak hour impact on congestion was potentially calamitous.
There is no origin and destination data provided. We don’t know how the changes will affect, for example, ambulance journey times to the nearby hospital. It is information that must be provided before an informed decision could be made.
It is also surprising – given the apparent concerns about pollution levels -that no consideration has been given to declaring the area a low emission zone. The new coalition Council has been very slow to reverse the Tory led campaign to have ResPark low emission vehicle discount charges abolished. The decision took effect at the beginning of the year.
The declaration of an ultra-low emission zone (basically allowing access only to electric vehicles) will of course have to wait until the Council solves the “on street” charging issue.
The plans involve the whole of The Groves area becoming a single ResPark zone. The zone will include the Monk Bar car park and the St Johns Campus.
NB. The same meeting will hear about plans to redesign the Monk Bar/Lord Mayors Walk junction. New traffic lights will be provided at the same time.
A bumper list of traffic management changes is being considered at a meeting next week (click for details).
A summary list can be found by clicking here
The cost of advertising the planned changes comes to £25,500. This is three times thae actually cost of changing lines and signage
The changes include removing a motorcycle parking bay on Acomb Road near the shops. It will be replaced by a car parking bay.
