Changes made to Thanet Road highway plans

The responsible Council executive member – Ian Gillies – has today thrown out plans which would have  seen use of the bus lay-bys on Thanet Road discontinued.

The plan to close the lay-by on the Rugby Club side of the road caused major concerns with drivers fearing that sight lines would be impeded by  buses parked on the highways.

There were also fears that traffic congestion would increase as would pollution levels.

The proposal was opposed by officers of the Foxwood Residents Association who argued that the plans were “over engineered” and unnecessarily expensive.

An alternative, which would have kept the  bus lay-bys together with an advisory 20 mph speed limit and guard rails to prevent children running onto the highway, was tabled by local residents.

The bus lay-bys have now been saved but additional road humps are to be installed, despite the fact that the Council has now admitted that average speeds are well below the 30 mph limit.

The Residents Association has asked that they be consulted early on when proposals like these are considered in future.

 

Major traffic changes planned for Thanet Road near Lidl

The Council is expected, at a meeting taking place on 22nd June, to sign off major highways changes near the Lidl store on Thanet Road.

The plans involve imposing a 20 mph speed limit enforced by speed tables and humps. Currently for most of the day vehicle speeds are around this level anyway, although the Council has not provided any measurements.

The northern bus lay by (near the rugby club) will be removed altogether meaning that stopping buses will block the highway. This is a busy bus stop and carriageway waiting will artificially create additional congestion and pollution as well as limiting sight lines.

(The Council’s original plan had bizarrely been to reduce the carriageway to a single lane by creating a “pinch point”. Thankfully this potty idea has been abandoned).

The Council has been criticised in the way they have sought to reduce accident levels in this area.

The Council report says, “10 collisions were identified between the roundabout at Foxwood Lane and the junction with St James Place. Four of these collisions had comminality with children either stepping out or running into the road in front of a vehicle. Two of these collisions were located outside the Lidl supermarket, with the other two located at different positions along the route”.

Unfortunately no further analysis of the individual accidents has been provided although the implication is that excessive vehicle speed was the cause.

The most obvious remedy, when pedestrians are involved in accidents on a carriageway, is to ensure that they cross the road at the safest location. This can be achieved by fitting guard rails (and is certainly the obvious way to address any concerns about children running out from the store access path).

There already is a Toucan crossing at the Kingsway end of the road while a pedestrian refuge is available at the other end.

The Council failed to consult properly on their revised plans resorting to lamppost notifications which were highly unlikely to be read by anyone, and certainly not by drivers. Strangely the Council doesn’t advertise proposed traffic orders of this type on their own web site.

If the scheme goes ahead as planned – without safety railings – we fear that it will make things worse rather than better. Drivers will become frustrated and will try to overtake stationary buses and other vehicles at points where traffic currently runs freely for most of the day.

Time for a last minute rethink perhaps?

 

York Council consultation systems failing

The first residents knew of a plan to extend alcohol sale times at the local Tesco express store on Acomb Wood Drive was when one found a vandalised notice in a hedgerow.

It was unclear where, or for how long, the Council notice had been displayed but the date for representations had already passed.

Late night alcohol sales – in this case the application would allow sales from 7:00am to 11:00pm seven days a week – are an issue in the area where an adjacent pub already supplies on premises needs.

Residents only find out about licensing applications if they happen to access an obscure part of the Councils web site. On the page, they can download the latest list.

There is no option for interested parties to be alerted to changes through text or Email alerts.

We think that the Council needs to up its game on consultation and make use of increasingly sophisticated social media channels.

It still hasn’t rolled out the much-promised personal account system which it claimed would allow every individual citizen to interact with the authority.

6 months after access to litter reports was rolled out – with some success – other service reports are still dogged by inadequate feedback systems.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs)

Thanet Road proposed road humps

Worse still is the publicity given to TROs. This is a statutory activity. The Council is required to advertise any proposed changes to parking, access, speed limit and other transport restrictions.

For many years, the draft orders appeared on an obscure page in the local paper.

One would reasonably think that in 2017 the orders would also be displayed on the Councils web site.

It appears not.

Use the search facility on the Councils web site and no TROs are displayed.

It is almost as if the Council didn’t want drivers to find out what they are planning to do!

If objections to an draft Order are received, the Council is required to consider them and make a public decision on each.

One of the TROs currently out for consultation concerns Thanet Road where a 20-mph speed limit – and traffic calming measures – may be introduced.

Anyone searching for Thanet Road on the Council web site will be disappointed.

It is a shame that the Council doesn’t make better use of its web site, Facebook and Twitter together with more traditional methods like noticeboards.

The noticeboards in Windsor Garth and Ascot Way (both close to Thanet Road) have not had any notices of any sort displayed on them for over a year!

Council set to put road humps on Thanet Road

The York Council announced last year they they were considering putting a chicane on Thanet Road.  The scheme was apparently aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian causalities near the Lidl supermarket and presumed that vehicle speeds were to blame for the problem.

Residents reacted strongly against the scheme claiming that a chicane would simply add to the congestion problems in the area

Now the Council have published a new plan which would see road humps installed in the area and a 20 mph speed limit imposed.

The road forms part of an important bus route which are normally excluded for 20 mph zones.

We think that much of the problem could be tackled by channeling pedestrians to an optimum location at which to cross the road. This might be done by using guard rails plus the installation of a pedestrian refuge.

We doubt that the new scheme represents value for money

Thanet Road proposed road humps Feb 2017

Thanet Road proposed road humps Feb 2017

Chicanes threat as Council ponders accident reduction options on Thanet Road

 

The Council is consulting local Councillors on plans for accident reduction initiatives in the area. By far the most controversial is likely to be a proposal to introduce a chicane on Thanet Road outside Lidl.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

The initiative was prompted by the 11 accidents which have been recorded on the stretch of road between the Gale Lane junction and St James Place. Four of these were due to children running onto the highway. All of the accidents were recorded as “slight” (i.e. no major injuries)

While chicanes do slow traffic, they are unpopular as they lead to increased congestion.

We think that the installation of guard rails would be a better idea.

The Council is also considering removing the guard rails at the Cornlands Road/Gale Lane mini roundabout (to improve sight lines) and installing a traffic island at the Kingsway West/Tudor Road junction.

Details can be found by clicking here

Reminder: Thanet Road and St Helen’s Road closures from today (Wednesday)

  • road works
  • Thanet Road, York will be closed between its junctions with Chaloner’s Road and Eason View, York (ii) Railway View, York between its junction with Thanet Road and a point 10 metres north east of the said junction from 0900hrs on Wednesday 18th November until 2400hrs on Thursday 19th November 2015 for carriageway resurfacing works.  Additionally, the ‘ONE WAY’ direction of traffic flow in Eason View is suspended during the period of physical closure to allow two-way traffic flow in the said road when the closure is put into effect.
  • St Helen’s Road, York will be closed between the respective western property boundaries of No.’s 5 and 12 St Helen’s Road from 0001hrs on Friday 20th November until 2400hrs on 26th November 2015 for carriageway resurfacing works. It is envisaged that the restrictions will only be put into effect between 0900hrs and 1600hrs on Friday 20th November 2015. An alternative route for diverted traffic will be available:from the eastern closure point via St Helen’s Road, Tadcaster Road, Moor Lane, Chaloner’s Road, Thanet Road and St Helen’s Road.
    from the western closure point via St Helen’s Road, Eason View, Chaloner’s Road, Moor Lane, Tadcaster Road and St Helen’s Road.
  • Details of other road closures can be found by clicking here

Road works on Thanet Road and St Helen’s Road 19th/20th November

  • road works
  • Thanet Road, York will be closed between its junctions with Chaloner’s Road and Eason View, York (ii) Railway View, York between its junction with Thanet Road and a point 10metres north east of the said junction from 0900hrs on 18th November until 2400hrs on 19th November 2015 for carriageway resurfacing works.  Additionally, the ‘ONE WAY’ direction of traffic flow in Eason View is suspended during the period of physical closure to allow two-way traffic flow in the said road when the closure is put into effect. During the works period vehicle movements between Easson View and St Helen’s Road will be controlled by two-way traffic signals. It is envisaged that the closure will be put in place in two phases, with on day for each phase during the works period. An alternative route for diverted traffic will be signed during the works period.
  • St Helen’s Road, York will be closed between the respective western property boundaries of No.’s 5 and 12 St Helen’s Road from 0001hrs on 20th November until 2400hrs on 26th November 2015 for carriageway resurfacing works. It is envisaged that the restrictions will only be put into effect between 0900hrs and 1600hrs on Friday 20th November 2015. An alternative route for diverted traffic will be available:

    from the eastern closure point via St Helen’s Road, Tadcaster Road, Moor Lane, Chaloner’s Road, Thanet Road and St Helen’s Road.
    from the western closure point via St Helen’s Road, Eason View, Chaloner’s Road, Moor Lane, Tadcaster Road and St Helen’s Road.

  • Details of other road closures can be found by clicking here