We are compiling our own list which we hope to publish here next week.
That was the week that was in photos
We are compiling our own list which we hope to publish here next week.
We are compiling our own list which we hope to publish here next week.
Good work by Highways England
Highways England removed the carcass of the dead badger from the A64 yesterday. The response was very swift.
York Council trying to maintain public service standards
Good to see at least some public services continuing in York. Verges and open spaces are being cut today in west York. This will be appreciated by the many additional users who are using parks and other spaces for their daily exercise.
Also the pot hole filling team has been at work with long standing hazards on Foxwood Lane patched this week. This should make cycling safer.
Still a lot of catching up to do though and the highways side.
Catching up with maintenance work
We’ve been out and about checking on public service standards in west York in the wake of the recent storms. These are some of this weeks reports
Road repairs needed on Huntsmans Walk 
Verges damaged in Thoresby Road 
Broken play equipment
Uneven path in St Stephens Road 
Dumping on St Josephs Court – Cornlands Rd snicket 
Dumping next to Cornlands Park
The Council have promised a thorough review of the snickets in the area. The residents association is currently conducting an audit of standards. In several there are problems with worn paths, weeds, litter, dumping and damaged boundary fencing. During the summer months, anti social behaviour is an issue in some while other s are obstructed by trees and hedges.
Hopefully these issues will all be addressed later it the year.
Some strange Council responses to problems
Some reports of highway defects are being knocked back with “no further action required” responses this year.
One of the deficiencies of the Councils “report it on line” system is that no reason for inaction is given. There was a time when a pothole might go unfilled because it didn’t meet what were styled “the Councils intervention level”. Basically they weren’t judged to be deep enough.
Eventually frost damage would, of course, ensure that it did become bad enough to justify filling.
But there are some very uneven roads which are, perversely, being judged as safe these days
Council officials are also reluctant to send warning letters to drivers who have damaged verges, even when it is obvious who is responsible,
One piece of better news, with local Councillors reporting that work on finishing drainage work on the Osprey Close footpath will recommence shortly. The footpath may be diverted around the worst of the mud with further repairs to the land drains taking place when the area dries out.
Tackle the potholes now
Winter will be with us soon now and with it the risk of icy weather. Frost damage, to a poorly maintained highway surface, can be devastating making expensive reconstruction work inevitable.
Residents are being urged to report any potholes so that they can receive attention. There is rightly some scepticism amongst residents with reported highway defects often marked up with paint but then seemingly left for months before work is undertaken
Click here to report issues on line
Defects on Dijon Avenue and Kingswood Grove have been reported on several occasions. We”ll see how long it takes for repairs to take place.
Big investment in York Public Services
Council leadership set to prioritise road repairs, play facilities, housing, energy efficiency and Social Care.
The new Council leadership has announced changes to the budget that it inherited. As expected, extra investment in improvements to street level public services are planned.
There will be extra investment in
- Removing graffiti
- Additional Litter bins
- Tree management
- Crime reduction
- Waste collection
- Street environment (cleaning and community projects)
- Buses
- Electric vehicle charging point maintenance.
The biggest investment will be £1 million spent on road repairs and a further £1 million on cycling/walking improvements
There will be a £250,000 boost for children’s play facilities.
The Council will invest £1 million in speeding up housing modernisation and a further £1 million on energy efficiency improvements
£22,000 is being taken for the reserves to improve children’s and adult social care standards.
Several of the proposals are less than transparent. We are told, for example, that the Council will “Re-purpose funding from the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pilot to strengthen our approach to inclusive growth, including child poverty, greening the high street and promote lifelong learning”
Also, the Council will fund “connections with communities most impacted by EU exit to better understand their needs, and to take forward the community hubs work initiated”
Four schemes are intended to be self-funding. They relate to foster care, Special Education Needs and Disability pupils, Public Health and mental health.
The proposals will be welcomed by many in the City. It will, however, take more than £1 million to get the City’s roads back into good order.
£4.25 million of the plan is capital investment, meaning higher debt charges in the future (and less to spend in the revenue budget).
The plans are likely to be criticised for failing to clearly identify the objectives of some of the changes with no detail given of how the success of the projects will be measured.
No KPIs are listed and there is no clear vision of how the City will look in 4 years’ time.
Residents may feel that prompt attention to reducing the costs of some inherited major projects is necessary, especially if demands on taxpayers in future years are to remain under control.
It really shouldn’t cost £35,000 to “ launch a public Citizen’s Assembly on how the Council can best work in an open way”
The Council must become a “can do” rather than a “can talk” organisation.
Still it’s a start, and a better one than was managed by the last two Council administrations.
The proposal will be discussed at a meeting taking place on 17th July
A full list of budget proposals can be read by clicking here
Time to tackle the potholes
When the list of streets which will be resurfaced this year was published a few weeks ago, it prompted disappointment in many areas.
For example the Herman Walk access road to Spurr Court had been scheduled to be resurfaced 4 years ago, but mysteriously disappeared for the programme before work could start. The carriageway has now almost worn away with the base layer increasingly vulnerable to ice damage.
Not surprisingly other roads in the same area – which were laid at the same time – are also showing signs of wear and tear. Resurfacing now would avoid more expensive repairs in later years. (NB. The Council was allocated additional monies to cover carriageway repairs earlier in the year)
Highway defects represent a particular hazard for cyclists. We’ve reported several over the last few days that require prompt attention. The last systematic programme of cycle margin resurfacing works in York took place over 10 years ago.
Some concrete surfaces are now breaking up. Heavy vehicles, accessing sites on Windsor Garth, are wrecking the Kingsway West highway. This is likely to get worse as work commences on the Ascot Way redevelopment plan
Plea for York Council to get a grip on growing problems in west York
Big programme of footpath and road repairs announced in York
The York Council has announced which roads and footpaths will be resurfaced this year. The programme is the biggest for several years with, in total, £8,091,500 is due to be invested.
This represents an increase of 27% over the previous years budget
Around 100 individual roads are listed for resurfacing.
In the Westfield area, the programme includes £1/4 million for work on the following roads and footpaths
| Askham Lane (part) | Carriageway | Westfield | £59,000 |
| Morrell Court | Carriageway | Westfield | £8,000 |
| Severus Street | Carriageway | Westfield | £46,000 |
| Slessor Road | Carriageway | Westfield | £5,000 |
| Acomb Wood Drive | Footpath | Westfield | £12,000 |
| Bellhouse Way | Footpath | Westfield | £60,000 |
| Foxwood Lane (part) | Footpath | Westfield | £8,500 |
| Houndsway | Footpath | Westfield | £10,000 |
| Osprey Close | Footpath | Westfield | £3,000 |
| Pheasant Drive | Footpath | Westfield | £14,000 |
| Redcoat Way | Footpath | Westfield | £4,000 |
| Reynard Court | Footpath | Westfield | £2,000 |
| Stirrup Close | Footpath | Westfield | £18,500 |
| The Gallops | Footpath | Westfield | £31,000 |
The full programme can be viewed by clicking here