More road closures in The Groves area

Residents working with the council are being consulted on plans for extra road closures in The Groves residential area to stop through traffic.

The Council claims it will  improve the community’s air quality. However no figures on the impact on the volume and speed of  vehicles displaced onto the rest of the network have been provided. 

Slower moving traffic generally results in increases in pollution levels.

There are also concerns about the impact  that the scheme will have on emergency service vehicles. Some use the streets to access the York hospital.

The council considered and approved the principle of road closures in October 2019, subject to design.

Now, the Council says local people are being invited to a drop-in session to look at proposals to create four new road closures – in addition to two existing ones – to be introduced this spring.

“These will redirect drivers from The Groves’ narrow streets and on to the main road network in the area. Bikes and pedestrians will be able to get past the blocks and there will be space provided for turning vehicles at the closure positions”.

Local residents are invited to a drop-in session to chat to senior and ward councillors and council officers about the plans on Monday 17 February 2020, 6.30-8:30pm at Park Grove School.

Local residents can share their thoughts and ideas by emailing thegrovestrial@york.gov.uk or posting them to City of York Council, The Groves Trial Team, West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA

Wetherby Road roundabout – final resurfacing works due to start next week

Work on Wetherby Road roundabout proceding on schedule

The final stage of the Wetherby Road roundabout upgrade, the first of seven to be upgraded, will begin on Monday 19 November when overnight road surfacing works take place.

To keep disruption to a minimum work will take place overnight from 8pm-6am. The work is scheduled to take ten nights, from 19 – 28 November  including Saturday and Sunday

In order to carry out the works safely the use of a temporary road closure on the A1237 from the roundabout at A59 to the roundabout at Askham Lane and the closure of Wetherby Road from the junction of Beckfield Lane to the junction of Grange Lane will be necessary whilst works are taking place. The road will remain open as normal outside the above hours.

Clearly signed diversion routes will be set out for traffic. The closure is to ensure that health and safety is maintained for everyone.Site staff will be on hand to advise and assist residents about the access restrictions once the works are ongoing.

Emergency services will be permitted through the works in any situation, however, cyclists will be subject to the same traffic management as other vehicular road users.

As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience to the public, however we will try at all times to keep this to a minimum.

There may be further works following on from this period but these will be carried out under lane closures and temporary signals with the A1237 and Wetherby Road remaining open.

When the roundabout is completed it will be the first of seven to receive three lane entrances and two lane exits as part of a £38m scheme to reduce congestion on the York Outer Ring Road.

The York Outer Ring Road improvements programme is being funded through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Regio

For more information about the York Outer Ring Road improvements visit www.york.gov.uk/yorr (more…)

Overnight road closures in central York from 8th April for two weeks

Lendal Arch Gyratory set to be resurfaced

Following on from the extensive Lendal Arch Gyratory traffic signal works City of York Council is set to resurface the area next month to complete the upgrade scheme.

The resurfacing works includes sections of Rougier Street, Station Road, Station Rise(Leeman Road) and Station Avenue.

To minimise disruption, work will take place overnight (8:30pm until 5:30am) every night except Fridays and Saturdays. The work is expected to last up to two weeks, starting on Sunday 8 April.

Road closures will be in place during the works with diversion routes via Nunnery Lane and Water End/Clifton Bridge to avoid Lendal Bridge, Rougier Street and Leeman Road. Throughout the works, all vehicles will still be able to access the station from the Blossom Street direction.

There will be some single lane closures around bus stops on Station Road and Station Avenue as the new surfaces take 24 hours to cure, but these are planned to happen for only one day in the first week.

The Lendal Arch Gyratory work included a full renewal of the traffic signal equipment. Changes to the pedestrian crossing facilities, including widening and realigning the crossing to make the area safer and better for the thousands of pedestrians who regularly use the crossing.

The junction is set to be resurfaced in two phases. Phase one is set to be completed during the first week and includes Rougier Street, from the Tanner Row junction to the new signals, and sections of Station Road and Station Avenue. Phase two will be completed in the second week and includes the remaining sections of Station Road and Station Rise.

As with any resurfacing work residents are likely to experience some disruption. Residents can be assured that the council is doing everything possible to minimise disruption as much as possible. We have also contacted local residents and businesses to inform them of the work.

For information about bus diversions during the works, visit: www.itravelyork.info/

Olympic gold medallists set to take to York’s streets!

Delays expected in City centre tomorrow (Sunday)

York is gearing up to welcome several Team GB track cyclists fresh from their success at the Rio Olympic Games. The cyclists will take to the city’s streets alongside people of all ages and abilities as part of Sky Ride York on Sunday 11 September.

olympicsTeam GB medal winners from Rio, Joanna Rowsell Shand, Katie Archibald and Phillip Hindes will be joined by Tre Whyte, Shanaze Reade and Kyle Evans.

 

Sky Ride is a free, fun bike ride along a scenic 7km route taking in some of York’s famous landmarks including the Minster and Clifford’s Tower. The route will also take riders through the Festival of Cycling in Rowntree Park.

During Sky Ride York there will be music and entertainment, competitions and above all, a great traffic-free route to ride around the centre of York that will allow bike riders to see York from a different perspective.

Riders will also be able to take in the Festival of Cycling when the route passes Rowntree Park. The free festival 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.

There will also be ten adapted bikes available to hire from Rowntree Park (near the Millennium Bridge entrance). Bike hire is free of charge, and available on a first come, first served basis.

The Sky Ride York route will be closed to all traffic from 10.30am until approximately 5pm, or as soon as possible after the event has finished to ensure the safety of everyone taking part.

Residents and visitors are urged to make use of the city’s extensive Park&Ride network on the day, particularly by using the Park&Pedal facilities at any of York’s six Park&Ride sites.sky ride York

Bus routes will be altered to ensure that access into and out of the city centre is maintained, whilst avoiding those roads closed as part of the route.  Revised timetables will be put into place to ensure the smooth running of bus services. Residents and visitors are being encouraged to check their travel plans in advance and allow extra time for their journeys on the day. A complete list of bus route diversions will be available to download from http://www.itravelyork.info/news/get-in-gear

Castle car park will continue to be open on the day, however there will be reduced capacity to allow for one of the Sky Ride ‘activation zones’ featuring activities for residents and visitors to enjoy. A traffic management stop/go process will be in place here to assist the smooth flow of traffic.

Rowntree Park car park will be closed on Sunday 11 September due to the Festival of Cycling taking place, as in previous years. For safety reasons there will be no access to parking inside the route.

Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this fun, free celebration of cycling at Sky Ride York. Sign up now at www.goskyride.com/YorkSkyRide

Sky Ride York road closures on Sunday

On Sunday 11 September Sky Ride York will once again take to the city’s historic streets in partnership with City of York Council, British Cycling and Sky.

Click to view

Click to view

In 2015 Sky Ride York saw over 8,500 cyclists take to a 7km route taking in famous York landmarks including Clifford’s Tower and York Minster

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 Route (more…)

Is this the York street with the most road work closures?

Micklegate-1

Work has stared on replacing a sewer in Micklegate. The work is expected to last for 10 weeks.

It comes only two years after the last major closure on the street, when gas main repairs brought major delays and inconvenience to neighbouring shops and their customers. Many of the shops depend on passing trade and on street car parking space availability  can be limited by works.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Micklegate has been either been fully or partially closed on 26 occasions during the last 5 years.

Some of these closures have been caused by “special events”, such as the visit of the Queen, but most can be traced to utility works.

Special events are responsible for some closures

Special events are responsible for some closures

In total there have been restrictions in place for 250 days, of which 14 have been due to the activities of Yorkshire Water or their contractors.

Yorkshire Water will now close part of the street for 70 days to allow for the sewer repair.

It seems a shame that, with the repairs to the gas main still sharp in the memory, the utilities couldn’t have coordinated their projects  more closely.

One of the problems on the street is that part of the surface of the carriageway contains traditional cobbled setts, which take longer to reinstate.

A full list of the Micklegate closures can be downloaded by clicking here.