City of York Council will carry out works to reconstruct part of Alcuin Avenue in Tang Hall from Monday 19 January for up to 11 weeks.
The works will take place weekdays (Monday to Friday) between 8am and 5pm.
(more…)
Search Results for: "Bus services" ...
No new approach from Labour in York
Those looking for a change of approach from the “new” Labour leadership on the York Council will be disappointed by the content of reports being circulated with next weeks Council agendas.
Having already broken the long standing convention that no party political opinions should be published in Council documentation, both the outgoing Leader and Deputy Leader have produced reports which criticise their opponents or seeking to blame the Coalition for all the ills of the world.
So much then for any attempt at making a fresh start or reaching consensus. Some at least want to continue the confrontational approach which was rejected so comprehensively by electors in the October by-election
Overgrown garage area
One report even seeks to blame the government for a reduction in the number of people registered to vote in the City!
More significantly it continues to turn a blind eye to the deteriorating condition of the infrastructure (right) on many Council estates in the City.
Cllr Alexander sadly has written his own epitaph by claiming “Liberal Democrats want no Local Plan or one that would fail Government requirements” In reality, a Local Plan agreed in 2011 which Labour tinkered with and then withdraw.
Liberal Democrats want a Local Plan which respects both the priorities of the City’s population and which seeks to preserve the unique qualities of the City. Labour’s plan to expand the size of the City by over 20% during the next 15 years satisfied neither of the tests.
Failure to produce a Local Plan which could attract the support of both the Council and the people of the City is a poor legacy to leave to your successor.
How many Labour Councillors does it take to change a light bulb?
Two Cabinet members are to be summoned to a meeting on 11th December to decide whether to include the Punch Bowl in on a list of properties subject to an article 4 direction.
A meeting in October rejected the request even though designation would only require any proposed change of use to be subject to a formal planning application.
The Cabinet members for Planning and for Finance are now being asked to remove permitted development rights by CAMRA who are backed by a 1200 signature petition.
Bus service cuts – no consultation planned
Residents will have to wait until early January before finding out which local bus services Labour plan to cut. A decision meeting would have aired the issue was to have taken place on 11th December. 
The issue has now been referred to a Cabinet meeting scheduled for 6th January 2015.
The Council has made it clear that they are not proposing to consult with passengers likely to be affected by any cuts.
Changes to traffic priorities on Clarence Street
Clarence Street proposals – click to access
Following consultation with residents and businesses a new scheme to improve one of York’s key city centre bus routes is set to go to a Cabinet Member meeting for final approval.
The proposals include introducing a longer lane for vehicles turning left into Lord Mayor’s Walk from Clarence Street, so that straight-through/ right-turning traffic is not held up by queuing vehicles.
Traffic signals will be changed so that the left turn from Clarence Street into Lord Mayor’s Walk gets additional ‘green time’.
The scheme is supported through part of the £3.5 million Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF) awarded to the council from the Government’s Department for Transport in 2012.
The five-week consultation took place in September and October and asked for views on the proposed measures on Clarence Street to help improve the reliability of bus services on the approach to York city centre.
The findings of the consultation will now go before the Cabinet Member for Transport’s public Decision Session on Friday 21 November for final approval.
The improvements will help three of York’s five most frequent bus services, specifically routes 1, 5 and 6 which can experience some delays on Clarence Street, Gillygate and St Leonards Place.
Traffic arrangements for Sky Ride York
On Sunday 14 September Sky Ride York will take to the city’s historic streets in partnership with City of York Council, British Cycling and Sky.
Due to the size and scale of the event there will be a number of temporary traffic and transport changes to ensure the safety of everyone taking part.
The last similar event caused some serious traffic problems in the City.
The traffic free route, starting at Clifford’s Tower will see cyclists follow the riverside cycle path before they cross Millennium Bridge taking them past Rowntree Park where the annual Festival of Cycling will be taking place. Riders can then continue along Terry Avenue and Skeldergate before turning left and crossing over Lendal Bridge. They will then ride past the iconic York Minster and weave through the city centre before reaching the hub at Clifford’s Tower.
(more…)
Burdyke Avenue traffic improvements proposed
City of York Council has listened to calls from residents and bus operators and is taking action to address traffic issues along Burdyke Avenue in Clifton and improve local bus services.
Still more A59 road works to come
More traffic delays are in prospect as lane restrictions are re-introduced on the A59 near its Boroughbridge Road junction with the A1237.
Boroughbridge Rd southeast bound closed between A1237 & Beckfield Ln junctions 09:30hrs 16th July till 15:30hrs 22nd July due to road works.
— York Travel (@york_travel) July 10, 2014
The lane restrictions had been lifted for the Tour de France.
Now, with work at the junction dragging on, further congestion and inconvenience for drivers is expected.
The nearby Park and Ride site is also far from finished and the delays and the decision of the Council – to start bus services from the unfinished site – will be considered at the York Council meeting next week (17th).
Questions tabled include:
(xxxiv) To the Cabinet Member for Transport from Cllr Reid:
“Who took the decision, and when, to open the new Park and Ride site at Poppleton before work had been completed (the outstanding works on 9th June included car parking space, signage, traffic signals, road junction layout, layout, A1237 junction improvements etc) and when will all work connected with the Park and Ride site and associated road works be completed?”
(xxxvi) To the Cabinet Member for Transport from Cllr Reid:
“ What has been the number of vehicles parked on average each day at the new Park and Ride site at Poppleton and how many passengers have been carried by the new buses on each day since 9th June?”
Tour de France update
Council frantically planting marigolds on A59 roundabout
The York Council has abandoned any hope of getting the Poppleton Bar Park and Ride site finished before the Tour de France riders pass the site on Sunday morning.
Poppleton Bar park and ride site
They are currently desperately planting yellow flowers on the nearby roundabout no doubt to mollify the sponsors who are probably seething at the delays. The work is adding to the high congestion levels on the A1237.
The Council is likely to be asked to publish the minutes of any contract progress meetings that responsible Cabinet members (Merrett and more recently Levene) have held since February when it became clear that the original target completion date of 1st April would not be met.
Elsewhere the Council says that sales of Grand Departy tickets for Fridays concert are “brisk”. However they have reduced the number available from 10,000 to 5000 and now say that you can turn up and pay on the day. There has been no comment from the Cabinet member (Crisp) who is responsible for this particular flop.
Otherwise York residents have been advised to brace themselves for 3 hours of fame and turmoil on Sunday morning.
Where to see it
The timetable of events suggests that the cyclists will leave the racecourse at 11:00am.
The Spectator Hubs are situated at Huntington Stadium, Rowntree Park and the Designer Outlet and all are free and unticketed. Tickets for a fourth Hub at York Racecourse were issued earlier this year and were snapped up within hours. The Hubs will open at 8am (7am at the Racecourse) until approximately 7.30pm and all will have catering, entertainment, a Sports Activation Zone to explore York’s cycling and other sporting opportunities as well as large viewing screens for the sporting action.
(more…)
Resurfacing works on Alcuin Avenue
City of York Council will carry out essential resurfacing works on Alcuin Avenue, Tang Hall, starting on Monday 30 June.
Poppleton Bar Park and Ride site still not completed
The York Council has missed yet another deadline for the “final” completion of the Park and Ride site at Poppleton.
The Park and Ride service was opened prematurely by the Council 3 weeks ago although essential signage, traffic signals, parking bays, landscaping and improvements to the A1237/A59 junction had not been completed.
Not surprisingly, despite the novelty of being able to ride on the City’s first electric buses, user numbers have been very low.
Most bus services are running empty.
By Saturday evening carriageway surfacing had been completed near the roundabout but lane restrictions remain in place as work to access footpaths and the cycle path has yet to be finished.
The Park and Ride site itself resembles the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It will present a poor backdrop for the TV pictures of the Tour de France riders who are scheduled to pass the site next Sunday morning.
TV coverage is scheduled to be beamed world wide and was one of the main reasons given by the Council for its £1.6 million investment in the event.
The Council has failed to provide any explanation for the latest delays nor for its decision to open the Park and Ride facility before work was completed.
The failure is the latest in a sting of misadventures which saw that Council forced to abandon plans to turn Monk Stray into a camping site and which has seen very low ticket sales for their highly expensive Grand Departee concert being held at Huntington Stadium on Friday.
They have, however, now added the popular local band HUGE to the concert programme no doubt ensuring that the Council’s propaganda machine will be able to refer to a huge attendance at the event!
Historic 1909 tram shelter to be restored
An historic shelter, provided for York’s electric tram services in 1909, is being restored as part of the Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF), awarded Council by the Department for Transport in 2012.
Used by millions of passengers over the years catching trams, until the system was decommissioned in 1935, then buses, the half timbered passenger shelter outside the Railway Station is being restored through York’s Better Bus Area Programme.