Council asks if Low Poppleton Lane spy cameras should remain?

 

Residents and businesses are being encouraged to feedback their comments on the experimental Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which was put in place on Low Poppleton Lane earlier in the year.

So claims the York Council.

However, they are being very coy about some of the facts behind the restriction. You must work quite hard to find out how many fines have been issued for contraventions of the bus lane.

It turns out to be around 30 per day. 

We find that surprising for a suburban location. Almost as surprising as the 8000+ tickets issued to drivers in Coppergate since cameras were reintroduced there (see below)

We hope that the Council will publish details indicating what proportion of the offenders are local.

The Council – if it is to persist with ANPR camera enforcement – could useful do a survey of drivers who have been fined.

The signage may meet the legal minimum requirements. Whether the signs are understood by all may be worth probing?

Either way we still think that a warning letter should be issued to offenders before fines are levied.

There also remains the problem of the use of the bus lane by powered two wheelers.

We were assured that the dangers of diverting moped users on to the nearby northern by pass (A1237) were understood and had expected that a waiver allowing them to use the bus lane would be in place by now.

But no action has been taken and the official advice remains to “push” the motorcycle along the adjacent cycle path.

A council media release says “Enforcement commenced in April using a CCTV ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) system on the bus lane, which replaced the rising bollard system on Low Poppleton Lane. The ANPR system issues motorists who breach the restrictions with a Penalty Charge Notice

The aim of this was to help increase pedestrian and cycle safety by encouraging people to comply with the traffic restriction and ensuring the smooth operation of the bus timetable that serves the nearby area.

As the Experimental TRO has been in place for more than six months, a decision can be taken on whether to make the TRO permanent or whether to make any changes to the arrangements.

The decision is due to be made at a public decision session by the Executive Member for Transport and Planning on 25 October.  The deadline for all comments or objections to be made is by midnight on Friday 12 October.

Comments can be sent to lowpoppletonlane.trial@york.gov.uk or residents can hand deliver or post their views to: Low Poppleton Lane Trial, Parking Services, Second Floor, West Offices, York, YO1 6GA

All comments and feedback will be taken into consideration at an upcoming decision session on the 25 October. A decision will then be made on whether to make the restriction permanent”.

“Thank York It’s Friday” sees introduction of late evening Park & Ride every Friday until Christmas

York’s city centre is supporting the high street with a new initiative bringing together York Business Improvement District, First York, City of York Council and York Retail Forum.

“Thank York It’s Friday” runs every Friday until Christmas, encouraging local people and visitors alike to spend Friday evenings in the city centre.

“This is a scheme driven by local traders and designed to get locals back into the city centre to start their weekend a little earlier.  With late night shopping until 7pm – and some stores until 8pm – and opportunities to socialise with friends whilst still taking advantage of the Park & Ride, the last bus to each Park & Ride site now departs at 11pm,” comments Andrew Lowson, executive director of York BID.  “We know that it takes joined-up thinking to make this kind of initiative happen, which is why we’ve worked so closely with First York and City of York Council to make York Retail Forum’s idea come to life.”

Key retail outlets have already confirmed that they will open until 7pm on Friday evenings, including Brown’s, Marks & Spencer, Next, Primark, TK Maxx, Whittards and WH Smith, the additional opening until 8pm at Debenhams, Crabtree & Evelyn, Love Cheese, Lush and Pavers Shoes.  More retailers are expected to follow suit in the run-up to Christmas.

The late night Park & Ride will initially be subsidised by York BID, though it is hoped that the number of additional people making use of the service in the coming months will enable it to be self-sustaining in the longer term.

Marc Bichtemann, Managing Director at First York, said, “We’re proud to operate one of the most successful Park & Ride sites in the country, which helps save customers the hassle and cost of parking in York with just a short bus trip to and from the city. We’re excited to be working with other local partners to develop the Park & Ride service and to offer later trips for customers wanting to spend more time in the city, or for those travelling back into York via train, wanting access to their car for their onward journey.”

Micklegate Bar closure to traffic: consultation set to start

New restrictions could be introduced on Micklegate, to prevent vehicles travelling outbound from the city, and reduce the impact of traffic on the historic bar walls.

A report being considered next week reveals that around 130 vehicles an hour (PM) use the outbound lane through the Bar to reach Blossom Street.

The report does not look in detail at the effects moving more traffic onto the inner ring road would have but it does sound the following word of caution

. It should be noted that significant work is planned on the Inner Ring Road at Queen Street over the next few years as part of the station frontage  scheme. Changes to the traffic restrictions through Micklegate Bar could increase the traffic levels and potentially delays on the Inner Ring Road
during the works.

A call for the outbound closure of Micklegate Bar was debated by councillors at a Full Council meeting on 19 July.

Following this, a report is now being taken to a transport and planning decision session meeting on 13 September, to take forward these proposals.

The Council in a statement says, “If approved, this will pave way for a consultation, including an experimental Traffic Regulation order (TRO) for a maximum of 18 months during which time, depending on the outcome of the consultation, there will be the option of making the changes permanent.

The TRO will help determine the benefits of restricting vehicles in Micklegate and will allow the local community and businesses the opportunity to experience the changes before making representations.

During this 18 month period, there will be an outbound road closure only (cycle access will be available in both directions). This means the road will be open to inbound traffic through Micklegate Bar from Blossom Street/Nunnery Lane/Queen Street”.

Preferred option for closure of outbound section of Micklegate Bar September 2018

Traffic calming for Thoresby Road?

Scheme could cost £41,000!

With no recorded accidents over the last 3 years and mean traffic speeds only 21 mph, it is something of a surprise that Council officials are considering installing speed humps on Thoresby Road.

There have been some complaints about speeding in the past but, partly because of the narrow carriageway and also significant levels of on street parking, high speeds are the exception rather than the rule.

There is more concern from residents about vehicle speeds on the neighbouring St Stephens Road which is a through route and used as a short cut by some drivers.

The possibility of installing speed humps or repeater 20 mph speed limit warning signs will be considered at a meeting taking place next week. 

A new parking lay-by is planned for construction outside the Thoresby Road flats between The Reeves and St Stephens Road (low numbers).

Councillors are being recommended to defer any changes until the effects of the lay-by on driver behaviour is clearer.

New cycle barrier design consultation near Foxwood

The Council is consulting on a new design for cycle barriers on the cycle track next to the Thanet Road sports area.

Chicane style barriers would replace the existing design. The barrier at Sherringham Drive was removed recently following damage.

In the main the aim of any cycle barriers is to prevent access by motorcycles while allowing use by pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists.

 

New Water End bridge will cost £20 million

York Central

Councillors are set to invest £20 million in a new access bridge linking Water Lane to the new York Central development.

Part of the cost involves mitigation of the effect that the new road will have on the “Millennium Green”.  Ironically the green was previously owned by the Council.

The work has to be finished by March 2021 to satisfy criteria laid down by the Leeds based West Yorkshire Transport Fund. Work is expected to start in the spring of 2019

There is likely to be wide-scale disruption to traffic using Water End. With several other major schemes also set to start on the north and west of the City, including the northern by pass roundabout upgrades, the potential for major transport disruption exists.

If the York Central scheme fails to go ahead, – some financing bids are still outstanding – the liability for taxpayers already stands at £5.7 million.

Get into gear for the Festival of Cycling – Sunday 2 September

A renowned free event, the York Festival of Cycling will return once again on Sunday 2 September.

The event has something for the whole family with all sorts of pedal powered activities for people to take part in.

There will be bikes and trikes of all shapes and sizes including adapted bikes, balance bikes and tandems for people to test ride on the day.

BMX stunt team ‘Savage Skills’ will be performing throughout the day showing some of the amazing stunts and tricks that can be done on two wheels. There will also be ‘The AirBag’ for BMXers to try out their own airborne tricks without the worry of a hard landing.

North Yorkshire Police will be on hand with their state of the art ‘dot peen’ property marking machine. They will be security marking cycles and other valuable items during the day free of charge.

Re-Cycle York will be providing a Doctor Bike service at the event to give festival attendees a free health check of their bike. Get Cycling, The Cycle Airbag, York Greenways and Bike Belles will also be there on the day with information and advice.

The i-Travel York team will also be available to provide travel advice and information for residents to encourage them to try out sustainable modes of travel, including cycling and walking. For more information visit www.itravelyork.info

Traffic calming plan for Thoresby Road?

Thoresby Road

The Council says it is considering how vehicle speeds on Thoresby Road can be controlled. It will discuss the issues involved at a meeting taking place on 13th September.

Details of the proposals are not yet available.

However, the street – which contains around 200 homes – is not a through route, so much of the problem arises from the use of vehicles by residents and their visitors.

In the past, physical works have not been consider practical because of the narrow width of the carriageway and the fact that on street parking has created a “chicane” effect which has slowed the speed of some vehicles.

There are plans to provide an additional off street parking layby at the low numbered end of the street.

Grange Lane

Separately the Council has decided to back a plan to designate the rural part of Grange Lane as a “restricted byway”. This means that the sections on both sides of the A1237 would be accessible by, not only pedestrians, but also cyclists, horse riders and those driving a “horse and cart”.

It is not clear how much additional maintenance expenditure would be incurred by the change (parts of the route tend to get overgrown) while safety concerns at the by pass junctions remain a real concern.

Car parking availability signs still out of order

“On line” web guide scrapped

Car parking space availability signs still not working

The Council has about 20 signs on arterial roads which, until about 5 years ago, showed how many empty parking spaces there were at each car park.

Such facilities became commonplace on City streets more than a decade ago. They’re still to be found at many tourist destinations.

The FOI response has also revealed that the counters which allow the number of spaces to be identified, will only be reactivate on three of the signs before the end of the financial year.

The Council – after promising that its on line service, which also gives a guide to finding space, would be updated – has now been decommissioned.  The number of spaces shown has been incorrect for several years.

Users are now referred to the iTravel web site which contains only a list of car parks (and without an indication of the number of spaces at each).

Commercial sites like https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/ are much better.

There were also hopes that space availability would be linked to GPS systems to allow “Sat Nav” users to optimise their routes. Now it seems that driving round the inner ring road will continue to be the only way of finding a space.

That’s bad news for a Council leadership that claims to be trying to reduce pollution levels in the City centre, by cutting out unnecessary travel. Its also bad news fro some City centre traders who sell goods that require a purchaser to have access to their own transport.