Road closures in Groves area “within 2/3 weeks”

The Council is poised to make major changes to the plans for traffic restrictions in The Groves area which were agreed last year.

According to a report being considered at a meeting on 22^nd June, additional road closures will be implemented. Some additional “on street” parking spaces will be lost.

The closures could be implemented within 2/3 weeks. The experimental traffic order would last for up to 18 months.

The revised plans include several “contraflow” cycle lanes on relatively narrow streets – a system criticised on safety grounds by some cyclists.

An expected restriction of school “drop off” arrangements has not materialised.

The Council has been reluctant to publish traffic modelling figures which would reveal the impact on congestion, journey times and pollution in this part of the City.

A large number of objections to the original plans were received by the Council. Residents were concerned about additional pollution on the longer diversion routes. Some cited difficulties with severance from key facilities like the hospital and Monks Cross. Others said that deliveries would be hampered while some local shops and businesses said that, if passing trade was lost, then they might close.

The haste to implement additional restrictions under the cloak of a COVID response will cause more general concerns. The City centre economy faces a major challenge over the next few months. Either people will return to shop there despite restrictions on public transport, or they will go elsewhere. Those measures, along with plans to close the key Castle car park, may be bad news for those retailers who are on the financial brink.

While the current lower traffic volumes may appear to be an opportunity for experiments, as we try to move out of recession, a more cautious approach is required.

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

Council estate issues in central part of York

Generally public service standards on Council housing estates in the centre of the City have been better than those experienced in the suburbs.

This is probably because core services (highway maintenance, street cleansing, grass cutting, graffiti removal etc) are more in the public eye. Consequently issues are more likely to be reported.

However there are exceptions. There is emerging evidence that service level agreement standards are not being met.

The Hope Street/Long Close Lane area has its fair share of issues. Principal among them is of course the long term empty Willow House building. Lack of progress by the Council in selling the building – which could provide housing for dozens of people – is shameful

As well as Wlllow House, damaged street signs, graffiti and weed growth are issues in the Hope Street area.

Elsewhere the Groves area also has its fair share of problems

Graffiti on garage door in St Thomas’ Place

A lot of potholes are emerging. They are particularity hazardous for cyclists. This one is on March Street (and has been reported)

Groves traffic ban plan – not entirely convincing

It seems that through traffic will be banned from The Groves area following a meeting next week.

A report recommends road closures on Lowther Street and Penleys Grove Street in the wake of complaints about safety and emission issues.

The report fails to provide any accident information either for the streets affected or the “alternative” routes (Lord Mayors Walk, Dodsworth Avenue etc.) which will see increases in traffic volumes.

Nor are any “before” or target “after” air pollution figures provided

Without these it will be impossible to judge whether any change could be judged a success.

The area is already covered by a 20-mph speed limit (one of the oldest in York).

What can be said is that the “short cutting” traffic is intrusive, noisy and can cause vibrations particularly in streets with traffic calming road humps. Residents living on the affected streets would certainly enjoy an improved quality of life.

The quid pro quo of course is that the road closures would also increase journey length and durations for many car trips from and to The Groves.

The traffic impact figures – assessed using the Councils sophisticated computer model – are expressed in very cautious terms. It is almost as if officials had discovered that the peak hour impact on congestion was potentially calamitous.

There is no origin and destination data provided. We don’t know how the changes will affect, for example, ambulance journey times to the nearby hospital. It is information that must be provided before an informed decision could be made.

It is also surprising – given the apparent concerns about pollution levels -that no consideration has been given to declaring the area a low emission zone. The new coalition Council has been very slow to reverse the Tory led campaign to have ResPark low emission vehicle discount charges abolished. The decision took effect at the beginning of the year.

The declaration of an ultra-low emission zone (basically allowing access only to electric vehicles) will of course have to wait until the Council solves the “on street” charging issue.

The plans involve the whole of The Groves area becoming a single ResPark zone. The zone will include the Monk Bar car park and the St Johns Campus.

NB. The same meeting will hear about plans to redesign the Monk Bar/Lord Mayors Walk junction. New traffic lights will be provided at the same time.

Groves drunks face crackdown

The York Council is planning to go ahead with the proposal to introduce a Public Space Protection Order in The Groves.

The proposal will be discussed at a meeting taking place on 16th November and is mainly aimed at eliminating “street drinking”.

Over 200 complaints of alcohol related anti social behavior were received for the Groves area last year.

85% of respondents to a recent consultation exercise said they favoured new restrictions on public drinking.

Offenders face a £100 fixed penalty notice

The area to be covered by the order can be viewed by clicking here

Groves alcohol issue set to be discussed next week

Area could get City’s first Public Space Protection Order

Following a petition organised by local residents the Council, is to discuss next week the action that it needs to take to address anti social behaviour activities in the Groves area.

The Council says that it is “currently working on the process for the PSPO of which public consultation is an important part. Public meetings are planned to take place which will including the local residents association”.

The governments, public spaces protection orders are intended to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a particular area that is detrimental to the local community’s qualify of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. The order could also be used to deal with likely future problems.
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