York Council promises to treat icy cycle paths…

….but remains inactive on weeds, hedges and other obstructions

The York Council will discuss next week whether to continue a trial which is aimed at removing ice from some cycle paths.  A report says that a two tractors operated last winter brushing snow and ice for a small number of off road cycle tracks .

None of these were in the Acomb, Westfield or rural areas.

Cycle paths treated to prevent icing 2019/20

 Only a small part of the Tadcaster Road cycle path was treated. “The routes were approximately 18km & 25km long and started and finished at Hazel Court James Street (see map). The service completed 59 runs in total using 9000 litres of pathway KA, the structure friendly non-corrosive solution, and 12000 litres of Probrine, effectively a salt water brine mix”.

The cost of doing the work was £47,000.

According to the report, the City of York Council Cycle Officer says feedback from cyclists can be summarised as “the trial is a vast improvement and that they’d like it extending to other parts of the network which were not included in the trial”.

The winter was (again) relatively mild without sustained periods of sub zero temperatures.

Cyclists in the suburbs and villages will view this report with some scepticism. Once again there seems to have  been no objective attempt made to identify the needs of longer distance and leisure cyclists in west York.

Too many off road paths are impeded by weeds, thorn bushes and detritus. Several are now badly rutted. No regular maintenance inspections take place.

The York Council must start taking the needs of all cyclist seriously. Otherwise it will be guilty of posturing.

It should start by increasing the number of inspections that it undertakes.

It should also agree a routine maintenance programme covering sweeping, weed treatment and hedge cutting on off road paths.  

It must also acknowledge that periodically it will have to renew notices and refresh white lines. At the moment many of these have just faded away.

Weeds obstruct Tadcaster Road cycle path
More weeds breaking up the path surface
Thorn branches are hazard on cycle paths
Detritus on oaths which are not regularly swept
More detritus

More problems with cycle paths

We’ve pointed out before, that the York Council is failing to properly maintain existing cycle paths.

Instead it seems preoccupied with launching new initiatives. Recently many of these have been ill considered and subsequently little used (e.g. the Marygate car park route)

The cycle path from Thanet Road to Foxwood is a case in point.

It has been impeded by a “lego” style barrier near Sherringham Drive for over two years. Despite pleas from the local residents association (who want the traditional style barriers restoring as the current set up allows access by motorcycles) there has been no response from the Council.

Nearby the cycle path itself is now cracking while a few metres away the white line markings have all but worn away.

There still doesn’t seem to be any systematic attempt to identify and repair defects.

Cycle path is now cracking up
Markings and white lines have worn away

Plea to sort out Foss Island Road maintenance problems

We reported earlier in the year that the verge and planted areas on Foss Islands Road needed to be cut back. They were overgrown with nettles, thistles and other weeds.

We expected that this issue would have been sorted by now but a visit today revealed that the problems continue. This is particularly disappointing in an area which is visible from the City Walls and which a large number of people see each week.

We have now formally approached the Council to determine who is responsible for maintenance and to what standards.

Foss Islands Road

Revised services at York Crematorium

Following significant cremator maintenance issues at York Crematorium, Bishopthorpe Road, recent repairs have meant cremation services can continue at a reduced capacity.

Cremations will reduce to five a day throughout December and January, less than half the normal daily average of 10-12.

An on site temporary cremator can provide limited cover if the permanent cremator is unavailable.

York funeral services will continue as normal.  Funeral directors will use facilities in neighbouring areas to provide cremation services if York Crematorium is unable to meet demand.

A decision about whether to increase the number of cremations will be made once City of York Council officers are confident the issues have been permanently resolved.

Funeral directors are supporting bereaved families to understand their options and help them through this difficult time.

Pauline Stuchfield, Assistant Director for Customer and Digital Services, City of York Council, said:

“We are grateful for funeral directors’ and cremation teams’ dedication and hard work during this sensitive time.  The loss of a loved one is hard enough and plans are in place to make these arrangements as easy as possible.  Timescales for the permanent repair are not yet known as they are complex and involve altering the fabric of the building. Although waiting times may increase, so far we are finding demand is largely being met by the alternative arrangements in place. ”

Chris Fielder, Funeral Director at J G Fielder & Son said:

“The staff at York Crematorium have been doing a great job under very difficult circumstances, arrangements have been swiftly and efficiently made over the past 6 weeks to ensure cremations could take place. All of our families have been notified of any impact prior to services taking place. The service limitations have impacted the normal timescales for funerals to take place, which is likely to continue until permanent repairs are complete, and so different options are being discussed with families.”