Acomb Front Street pedestrian crossing upgrade

Ageing and outdated traffic signals on the Front Street, Acomb, are set to be replaced this month by City of York Council.

Works are estimated to take around two weeks to complete and will start on Monday 5 July and is expected to be fully completed by Friday 16 July.

New, more reliable, traffic signals will be installed on the crossing as part of the Traffic Signal Asset Renewal Programme.

The new traffic signals will be cheaper to run and more reliable.  It will also enable the new systems to link direct to the council’s Traffic and Control Centre, so that the Network Monitoring Officers can manage the flow of traffic better in busy periods by adjusting traffic lights to best suit traffic conditions.

To help minimise disruption works will be carried out from 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

To allow for the works to be undertaken safely, it will be necessary to close a lane of the carriageway and operate temporary signals during the works. 

Everything will be done to keep delays to a minimum, but motorists are expected to experience some delays while the works are underway. 

Twenty metres of on street parking to the west of the crossing on both sides of the road will be suspended, to allow for the works to take place.

The council will be undertaking pedestrian crossing upgrades on Front Street in Acomb to provide more reliable traffic signals and improved pedestrian access.

A temporary controlled crossing will be provided during construction to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. Pedestrian routes and access to all businesses and properties will be retained throughout the duration of the works as will vehicular access. 

It will be necessary to temporarily close footways in the works area at certain times during the works and footway diversion routes will be put in place.

Those using the route are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible.

For any enquires regarding these works please contact tsar@york.gov.uk.

Micklegate Bar reopened

Micklegate Bar has reopened to eastbound traffic. All lanes are now open on Blossom Street.

According to Council sources the contractor responsible for removing the temporary road closure signs did not act promptly to remove them when the gas main replacement work was completed.

We think that the Council could have done much better in keeping users updated on the reasons for the delays.

Further down Tadcaster Road, the gas main replacement works are still behind schedule, but there is one piece of good news.

It appears that there will be no total closure of St Helens Road when the works reach that junction. Instead 3 way temporary traffic lights will be used.

It remains unclear when this part of the project will actually start.

Gas main replacement completed – but roads stay closed

Micklegate Bar and Blossom Street lane closures still in place

Work on replacing gas mains on Blossom Street and next to Micklegate Bar were completed 2 weeks ago it has emerged today.

Micklegate Bar was due to reopen to traffic today and the two lane closures on Blossom Street were also due to end.

Sources at Gas Networks are now suggesting that the closures could remain in place for another 3 weeks as the York Council is apparently struggling to coordinate carriageway resurfacing works.

An expected closure for further gas main replacement works on St Helens Road was due to start today, necessitating a bus route diversion. There is no sign of such a closure which was originally scheduled to start two weeks ago.

No updates have been issued on social media by either the Council or Gas Networks.

The Council has not issued any information to the media and both the road closure list and map showing current roadworks have not been updated.

The road network is expected to become gradually busier as the lockdown restrictions are eased. The restricted lane widths on Blossom Street represent a particular hazard for cyclists.

St Helens Road still open today

Road works set to continue on Tadcaster Road

Road users face several more months of congestion on one of York’s main arterial routes.

We commented on Friday that it seemed that gas main works at Micklegate Bar would not be finished by todays deadline.

Gas main replacement work on Tadcaster Road 27th February 2021

Further down the route gas main laying is edging forward but with no end in sight.

Work at the St Helens Road junction is due to start tomorrow.

Now the Council has said that it will also start drainage testing, cleaning and improvement works on the section from the A64 to the Askham Bar roundabout.

The work is expected to last for 5 weeks. (This is the section of carriageway which wasn’t resurfaced last year). Most of the work is expected to take place in the late afternoon or overnight.

When this work is completed, works are planned for the section between Askham Bar and Blossom Street.

The improvements are expected to cost around £5 million.

While we think that the Council is right to get as much work done, on well used roads, while traffic levels are relatively low, we are not convinced that the last years work, and this years projects, could not have been better coordinated.

Micklegate road works nearing completion

According to the Council web site works on replacing gas mains in Micklegate and Blossom Street are due to be completed today (26th February 2021).

Works in St Helens Road are due to start on Monday

The restrictions at Micklegate Bar have been awkward for pedestrians and cyclists, while other vehicles have been banned from using the route altogether.

Some attempt has recently been made to allow for cycle movements to be restored through the Bar.

Yesterday there still appeared to be a lot of work remaining to be completed.

Yorkshire Water working on Askham Lane leak

Traffic lights are in operation on Askham Lane at its junction with Tedder Road. Yorkshire Water are attempting – not for the first time – to deal with a recurrent leak near the bus stop.

The lockdown restrictions mean there is little impact on traffic volumes which are very light (and most buses are running empty).

Rain slows resurfacing work

Work on resurfacing part of Cornlands Road was delayed yesterday because of weather conditions. More rain is forecast for tomorrow (Thursday)

Cornlands Road

The resurfacing contractors are expected to move on to Gale Lane next week

Gale Lane

It is disappointing to see that repairs to the verge at the junction of Kingsway West and Newbury Avenue have not been completed. The damage was caused by large delivery lorries trying to access the (now completed) bungalow building site. We expected the reinstatement to be completed before the bungalows were occupied.

Kingsway West damaged verge

Elsewhere, electrical cable works on Dijon Avenue are taking a long time to complete. This means more nuisance and inconvenience for residents living in the area who also have to put up with the mud generated by vehicles accessing the Lowfield development site.

Dijon Avenue