Lendal Bridge fine refund scheme not working

Only 5500 motorists have so far applied for repayment of the fines – unlawfully imposed by Labour – on drivers using Lendal Bridge during the closure trial which started in August 2013.

This represents only a little over 10% of the total penalty notices issued.

Labour have set an arbitrary deadline of the end of December 2014 by which applications for refunds must be made.

The responsible Cabinet member claims not to know where the applications originated and the suspicion remains that tourists and other visitors to the City remain largely unaware that the refunds are available.

As we have said before, the reputational damage to York is irreversible but we believe that the new “balanced” Council must take immediate steps, to write to all these who were fined, telling them about the refund process.

It also seems reasonable to remove the deadline for applications.

With Labour having lost their overall Council majority they will no longer be able to block a public Inquiry into the actions that they took during the Lendal Bridge fiasco

Separately the Council has confirmed that its appeal against a parallel ruling on fines imposed on Coppergate, using similar signage and enforcement methods, has still not been heard.

Currently no enforcement action is taking place of the Coppergate access restrictions.

Walk to School Week

School pupils around York are getting ready to take Walk to School Week in their stride when it takes place from 13-17 October.

Twenty nine schools and 8,700 pupils across the city are taking part in this year’s campaign to encourage even more children to walk, cycle or scoot to school.

The school that gets the highest number of pupils walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week will win the coveted Jack Archer award and £400, partly funded by Age UK.

‘Scoot to School’ day will also take place on Wednesday 15. To encourage students to scoot the school with the most pupils who scoot to school on that day will win a Scooter Pod worth £300 donated by CyclePod.

It is recommended that children aged five to sixteen do at least sixty minutes of physical activity that gets their heart beating faster than usual and they need to do it everyday to burn off calories and prevent them storing up excess fat in the body.

Regular activity is also important for adults and it is recommended that adults make sure they’re active for just 30 minutes each day, or 150 minutes a week.

The scheme is also targeted at families who normally take the car, and encourages them to consider walking or cycling to school instead.

Residents can find out more about changing the way they travel in York at: http://www.itravelyork.info/ (more…)

Work gets underway to create new cycle/pedestrian bridge in the North of York

Works will get underway from next week to construct a new cycle/pedestrian bridge over the York to Scarborough railway line in Haxby.

This will complete a new safe off-road shared cycle and pedestrian route along the A1237 outer ring road, between the Haxby Road roundabout and the B1363 Wigginton Road roundabout, connecting over 15,000 people living in this area of York.

The contractor PBS Construction (North East) Ltdwill fabricate the main bridge structure off-site, and then plans to lift it into place over the weekend of 15/16 November.

The works were originally planned to commence in 2013, but have been rescheduled to accommodate an alternative design to address ground condition problems, and to meet Network Rail’s requirements to enable contractors to have access to and work close to the railway line.

Works to complete the approach cycle paths will start soon after in late November as well as the installation of a new Toucan crossing on Haxby Road. The new path is planned to become fully operational in early 2015.

Unfortunately cracks have appeared in the section of the cycle track west of the railway line which was completed last year. These appear to be due to the dry summer causing ground movement in some isolated areas.

The council is currently assessing its options to address this problem, which may involve relaying some areas of the path surfacing and filling/sealing the cracks.

Neil Ferris, Assistant Director for Transport, Highways and Fleet, said: “This is one of the largest investments in York’s cycling infrastructure since the introduction of the Orbital Cycle Route in 2011 and will invest £925,000 from the government funded i-Travel, and Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding.

“We’d like to thank those living and working nearby for their patience throughout the period of the works and for the unforeseen delays that we’ve experienced. We are looking to find a solution to address the current issues that will be both long lasting and cost effective. In the meantime we have put up signs that say the footpath is closed to deter people using it in the unfinished state, and while the overall route is not available.

“We would urge parents not to allow their children to walk or cycle along this path until the full route is open.”

The measures also include links with Haxby Road near to the roundabout, as well as approach ramps on the existing embankments to the new bridge and an additional crossing point on Wigginton Road to safely connect with Clifton Moor.

In addition to main bridge works, and the construction of the link paths, the council is also planting a new hedge alongside the A1237, next to the new fence line that has been established as part of the scheme. This planting is expected to happen in October/November.

The council intends to also amend the Public Right of Way across an adjacent field just west of the railway, with a view to improving access and reducing potential conflict between pedestrians, cyclists, and agricultural vehicles in this area.

The provision of an off-road route/safe link opens up access (sustainably, via cycling and/or walking) between Haxby, Strensall, Huntington, Earswick, New Earswick and to the retail, leisure and employment destination of Clifton Moor as well as students attending Joseph Rowntree School.

The new cycle route will be the flagship scheme of City of York Council’s four-year i-Travel initiative, made possible by £4.6 million of government funding which the council successfully bid for in 2011.

The Clifton Moor retail, leisure and employment area attracts around 6-million visitors every year and supports 6,000 employees.

In addition to the new cycle route, the council has also addressed the lack of good pedestrian and cycle routes within the Clifton Moor retail / leisure area itself by investing almost £100,000 of government funding in 2013 on new pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, cycle lanes, and measures to slow traffic speeds, by introducing easier and safer access for pedestrians and cyclists.

To find out more about the new cycle route and bridge visit: www.york.gov.uk/haxbytocliftonmoor

Decisions affecting traffic in every part of the City taken in private session by Labour Councillor

Traffic and parking decisions nodded through at behind closed doors session.

The man responsible for the secrecy was Labour Councillor David Levene.

Over 50 proposals for changes to parking restrictions and other local traffic management measures were decided last week.

Residents had no opportunity to influence the decisions with papers only being published on the Councils web site AFTER the meeting had concluded.

Labour Councillors representing areas like Westfield failed to make any representations on the plans which potentially affect dozens of local residents and hundreds of drivers.

This is the kind of secrecy and indifference that should disappear when Labour lose the Westfield by election and with it their Council majority.

The background reports can be read by clicking these links

Acomb

Bishopthorpe

Clifton

Dringhouses and Woodthorpe

Skelton Rawcliffe Clifton Without

Strensall

Westfield

Wheldrake

No speed surveys undertaken in West York

The Council has confirmed that no checks on vehicle speeds in West York have been undertaken since the controversial 20 mph speed limit signs were put up.

The lack of monitoring is likely to be raised at the council meeting taking place on 9^th October.

It seems strange that, having spent £600,000 on new signs ,the Council has n’tbothered to check whether they have had any effect on driver behaviour

The revelation comes as yet another anomaly with the 20 mph signing has been found.

Drivers coming down Green Lane towards the roundabout are told that the speed limit on one side of the road is 20 mph while on the other it is 30 mph!

Andrew Waller takes action to deal with footpath hazard

Andrew Waller tackles hedge

BEFORE – Hedge blocking Askham Lane

AFTER – bus shelter revealed

The bush blocking the Askham Lane footpath has been cut back by Andrew Waller and a team of volunteers.

The path had been blocked by the overgrown hedge for a couple of weeks forcing pedestrians to walk in the road.

The bush also potentially could have damaged passing vehicles.

The overgrown hedge has been reported to the Council several times during the summer with passengers, waiting in the shelter, complaining that they could not see buses approaching

The hedge still needs cutting back further with specialist equipment and we hope that the Council will do that and treat the nettles – which make access to the shelter difficult for elderly people – as quickly as possible.

Askham Lane bus shelter overwhelmed by undergrowth

Askham Lane bus stop

Passengers sheltering at the stop on Askham Lane are – for the second time this year – in danger of missing the bus.

Bushes now completely block the view of oncoming traffic while nettles make using the shelter a potentially painful option.

Earlier in the years volunteers form the local residents association cleared a path to the shelter but the York Council really should strim round the waiting area and cut back adjacent bushes on a routine basis.

The situation is particularly difficult for the many elderly people who use the seat in the shelter.

20’s plenty campaign – private correspondence revealed by Council

Copies of Emails between Councillors and officials in York – exchanged in the run up to the launch of the wide area 20 mph speed limits in west York last year – have been published by the Council.

The exchange of Emails can be viewed by clicking here and here

The project cost £600,000 to implement

The correspondence includes a request from Cllr Anna Semlyen for the use of a police radar speed gun (!)

This was the same Labour Councillor who argued that 20 mph speed limits should be introduced without consultation with residents.

Subsequently, as we now know, the new limits have had no effect on traffic speeds.

York Council wastes £600,000

Labours 20 mph speed limits are not working

Figures gained from the York Council by the Liberal Democrats under Freedom of information legislation confirm what most had suspected.

The new “signed only”20 mph speed limits have had little effect on vehicle speeds.

In the South Bank area—where the lower limits were introduced 2 years ago—the average speed of vehicles on several roads has actually INCREASED

On Prices Lane average speeds are up from 21 to 23 mph with a similar picture on part of Scarcroft Road (22 to 23 mph)

On most roads average speeds are the same as it was when the limit was set at 30 mph.

Speed check results South Bank click to enlarge

This is in line with results from other parts of the country.

Only in relatively narrow terraced streets—and on one section of Bishopthorpe Road itself—has there been a reduction in speeds, but even there it has usually been less than 1 mph.

When leaving the City on Bishopthorpe Road at a point near Rectory Gardens the majority of driver’s are now travelling at 29 mph rather than the 33 recorded before the change to a 20 mph limit.

The Council has declined so far to publish an analysis of accident rates in the new 20 mph areas. However the numbers Killed or Seriously Injured on all York’s roads last year—the first since resources were focused on introducing 20 mph speed limits—increased from the 51, recorded in 2012, to 58.

Tudor Road speed limit confusion click

Liberal Democrat campaigner Andrew Waller said,

“We should set the most appropriate speed limit for each urban road.

People understand 20 zones with speed tables at schools, shops and major crossing points, but there is now a confused mix of 30mph and 20 mph roads around our area.”

The FOI data for South Bank can be downloaded by clicking here

———

Andrew has produced the following evidence of confusion over speed limits.

“There is no better example, of the muddled way in which the new “wide area” speed limits were introduced, than on Tudor Road. (see pictures above right)

Vehicles approaching from Stuart Road are told that a 30 mph limit is in force.

Meanwhile motorists already on Tudor Road are told that the limit has changed—to 20 mph— about 100 metres before the road junction.

Small wonder that the Police aren’t able to enforce the speed limits and that motorists are confused”

Good news for pensioners using Moor Lane park and ride bus stop

First have confirmed that pensioners with a valid pass joining the Park and Ride bus at the Moor Lane car park stop WILL be entitled to travel free of charge.

At present pensioners with a pass joining Park and Ride services are charged 80p a journey.

Ann Reid says,

“I fought hard to retain this stop to allow residents who live within walking distance to still use the P& R service and avoid driving to the new site but the increased fares might well see increased car use”

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