£33+ million estimate for new York central access route

Compromise access route

The preferred option for an access bridge into the York Central site will cost between £33 & £43 million. The route will pass next the Millennium Green, but efforts are being made to minimise its impact.

The new route will effectively provide a by-pass for the Salisbury Terrace/Leeman Road housing area.

The compromise is described in a Council report published today following a period of consultation.

The report is good news for campaigners in the Holgate Road/ Wilton Rise community. They were set to be hit hardest by an access route using Chancery Rise. The Labour council bought the land that this route would have used in 2013 but offered little consultation with nearby residents. Quite how much this blunder has cost taxpayers is unclear at this stage.

So, fare around £3.7 million has been spent on planning work for York central plus site purchase of this £2.3 has come from York taxpayers. Now taxpayers are to be asked for a further £1.9 million to take the project forward.

In addition, the Council is being asked to find 3200,000 towards the costs of an expansion of the Railway Museum. The Museum hopes to invest around £50 million in their project

Following a “Master Planning” exercise for the site, a planning application is expected to be determined in Oct 2018

Consultation on access routes for York Central started in the last decade (see below)

Residents preferred access option location (Water End) remains the same!

Public consultation –
York central access options 2007

 

 

Works set to improve Monkgate roundabout safety

City of York Council will be improving the layout of the roundabout on Monkgate in an effort to improve safety for both cyclists and pedestrians.

Work will start on Monday 6 November and is expected to be completed by early December. Work will take place from 7am-3.30pm, Monday to Friday. To ensure that it is carried out safely there will be some lane closures during the works.

The improvements will see the approach to the roundabout on Huntington Road altered with improved crossing facilities at the traffic island. There will also be a new mandatory cycle lane on Huntington Road o enable cyclists to bypass any queuing traffic to use the off road route.

A shared use foot/cycle path will also be created on the corner of Huntington Road and Heworth Green. The width of the traffic islands on Heworth Green will also be increased to allow cyclists to use them safely.

The scheme was originally approved at an executive member for transport and planning decision session on 13 October 2016. This followed a consultation with homeowners on Monkgate and Huntington Road with most supporting the safety improvements.

As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption. Residents in the affected area have been contacted directly and assured that everything reasonably possible will be done to keep this to a minimum. However, motorists should expect some delays and plan their journey accordingly.

Thanet Road Toucan crossing finished but Council neglects essential work

The Toucan crossing at the junction of Kingsway West and Thanet Road has been completed and is working.

Unfortunately the Council didn’t take the opportunity – when plant was in the area – to resurface the hammerhead on Kingsway West which is very uneven and represents a hazard for cyclists.

The change coincides with the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit outside the Lidl store

Sadly the Council has also failed to upgrade the bollard on the Foxwood lane cycle path approach to the crossing. The wooden bollard has been a  source of complaint for several years. It lacks effective reflectors and, during foggy weather or on dark nights in heavy rain, it becomes virtually invisible for cyclists. The expectation had been that the council would either remove the bollard altogether or at least replace it with one that could be seen at night.

Bollard is a danger when visibility is limited.

 

Bad week for traffic congestion in York

It’s been a bad week for traffic congestion in York. Mostly seems to be down to road works with some – like the installation of a new pedestrian crossing on Thanet Road, near the Foxwood Lane junction running several days behind schedule.

The Councils twitter links seem to be off the pace with neither @iTravel nor @york_travel ‏offering much help.

You can check traffic conditions before setting out by visiting this web page https://roadworks.org/

Click for update

Road works to start at Crockey Hill. Delays expected in new year.

A scheme to reduce congestion to the south of the city moves a step closer next week as preparatory works begin on site.

The works – which will not interrupt traffic – have to happen before the main construction to widen the A19 junction with Wheldrake Lane, at Crockey Hill can take place in the new year.

The works include removing invasive weed species (such as Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed), ten trees and diverting a gas pipeline which runs close to the junction.

While the council has designed the junction improvements to minimise the amount of trees affected, it will provide a more diverse wildlife habit by planting 37 trees of different species in the new year.

An extra southbound lane will be built on approach to, and through the junction in a bid to ease rush-hour congestion heading south out of York, particularly at the A64 Fulford Interchange.

There will be no disruption to traffic during the preparatory works, and residents will be given plenty of notice before the mains construction works begin in mid-January 2018.

This scheme is funded from the DfT’s Local Pinch Point Fund. (more…)

Cutting edge traffic light tech gets the green light in York

Beacons on traffic lights will be ‘talking’ to cars in York as intelligent transport technology is used to reduce congestion in the city.

City of York Council has won £2.85m funding for its revolutionary Smarter Travel Evolution Programme (STEP) from the local road network strand of the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund.

STEP takes advantage of York’s unparalleled ultra fast fibre optic connectivity and the cutting edge transport research the government is already funding in the city.

Detectors located on traffic lights, bollards and other street furniture will track vehicle movements by anonymous signatures collected from people using mobile data services. This will then be processed using the most sophisticated real-time traffic data and analysis in the country. The system will also be able to talk to the new generation of connected and ‘driverless’ vehicles.

Starting in April 2018, tnational productivity fundhe two year life of STEP will transform the way the council manages the city’s roads, from changes to how traffic lights react to traffic flows through to designing junctions and road improvements.

This will also allow the council to better understand and model the potential impact of changes and demands on the network such as new homes and employment sites are created.

STEP will also provide ready-made technology to communicate with the connected and autonomous vehicles which are predicted to revolutionise transport with this data. (more…)

Thanet Road closed on Sunday

The Council have issued a statement today saying that Thanet Road will be closed fro several hours on Sunday

This is apparently connected to the current work undergoing to install road humps and renew pedestrian crossing equipment.

The short notice of the closure is unusual. The Council have failed to even issue a media release to alert residents. No word either on the iTravel twitter feed @iTravelYork or @york_travel

The number 4 bus service is being diverted via Bellhouse Way and Moor Lane.

The road between Foxwood Lane and Lidl will close at 8:00am and will reopen by 4:00pm (depending on how quickly the works are completed)

 

Rougier Street bus stops set for upgrade

 

From Monday 23 October City of York Council is set to start the next phase of work to improve the Rougier Street bus stops which are some of the most used in the city.

The improvements include installing new paving and kerbs to help ready the area for the new bus shelter in January. The work is expected to take four weeks to complete with the stops ready for passengers on Monday 20 November.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible for buses to stop on the Roman House side of Rougier Street whilst the repaving works is underway.  Because of this, bus stops on this side of the road (CA-CC) will be closed for four weeks whilst the work takes place.

Depending on the bus route, the nearest alternative stops will be at Low Ousegate, Station Avenue, the Railway Station or a temporary stop at Micklegate.  A list of bus services showing the nearest alternative stops during the closure period is available at www.itravelyork.info .

The Rougier Street bus stops will reopen on 20 November, for the Christmas and New Year period, then will close in January for the new shelter to be installed.

The work is part of the Better Bus Area Fund which has also seen improvements to the bus stop on Museum Street. Work is also taking place to enhance the Stonebow bus interchange.

Vital road link resurfaced as wind brings down branches in parts of Westfield

The Council has finished resurfacing the carriageway linking Askham Lane and The Green. The road had become badly potholed with the road humps posing a particular threat for cyclists. The Council completed the resurfacing work this week

In the same area, residents continue to complain about vehicles parked on the bend. They obstruct traffic and cause sight line problems. The Council will be asked to consider introducing restrictions on this section of road.

Recent winds have brought down several branches from trees in the Wetherby Road and Askham Lane areas. The problems has been exacerbated by lack of routine maintenance to highways trees in recent years. In some cases branches are fouling over head communications cables while in others public footpaths have been obstructed. It is hoped that some maintenance work will take place this winter.

Cyclists urged to light up and be seen in York

 City of York Council is reminding cyclists in York to light up and be seen as the nights draw in ahead of the clocks changing at the end of the month.

The ‘light up be seen’ project will see cyclists at the University of York, York St John University, York College and Askham Bryan College receive free high-vis equipment and lights alongside safety advice from North Yorkshire Police. The high-vis and lights will be distributed on 17 and 19 October, from 4-6pm.

Cyclists will be advised on the importance of being visible and safe when travelling during darker hours, as well the potential legal implications of not having lights and dangerous cycling.

The campaign is now in its fourth year at the University of York and will be rolled out city-wide for the first time this year.

The four universities and college’s are part of the council’s ‘Travel2Campus’ project, which encourages students and staff to be safe and consider all modes of transport when travelling around York.

For more information visit www.itravelyork.info/for-schools/travel2campus-project

(more…)