We reported earlier in the summer that several traffic island had become overgrown. This was partly due to an accumulation of silt. It appears that the islands were not being hand-swept.
The Council is now beginning to catch up with a programme aimed at clearing the islands of detritus. Those on Foxwood Lane, for example, are now looking tidy.
A more structured approach to street cleansing is needed though as some islands, including those on the A1237, are not being routinely cleansed
Street cleansing standards on the Chapelfields estate do vary a lot.
Elsewhere the Foxwood Residents Association is set to discuss street cleansing standards in their neighbourhood at their monthly meeting which is being held tomorrow. Residents have questioned whether the sweeping frequencies, promised by the Council on its web site, are actually being undertaken.
Maps showing how often individual streets should be manually or mechanically cleansed are published on the Councils web site.
It looks like the improvements to the weed killing programme on hard surfaces have failed to materialise.
A “third” application of weed killer was to have been applied to drainage gullies, footpaths, forecourts and other areas during the last 4 weeks.
While there have been improvements to some traffic islands (the build up of silt on Longfield Lane, Foxwood Lane and Gale Lane has been removed) the vast majority of the A1237 is remains overgrown.
The A59, Water Lane and Jockey Lane – all reported months ago – remain untreated.
There will be some serious questions to be answered at the meeting.
The traffic islands at the junction of Station Road, Poppleton with the A59 have been cleared of weeds and detritus by the Council. The long overdue improvement has given this key entry into the City a much needed boost.
There is still a lot of work to do removing weeds from the gutters while some of the trees still need cutting back from the paths.
….and thanks to the York Bid team who have completed the removal of weeds, cans and detritus from the Ouse Bridge parapet. Another busy location given a much needed face-lift.
Residents from the Huntington and Heworth areas have added their voices to the criticisms of the Council’s performance in keeping local streets clean and tidy. Although, like Woodthorpe on the west of the City, some streets in Huntington appear to have been well swept, they are outnumbered by those where even basic weed clearance has not taken place this summer.
One again it is the main entry roads into the City which are most neglected. It presents a poor image for visitors
Weeds block gutters and paths on Malton RoadPaved area on Huntington Road near Bell Farm has not been sprayedWeeds engulfing street furniture on Jockey LaneA blocked gully on Heworth Green. These need to be cleared before wetter weather arrives with winter. Long term build up of detritus around traffic island build outs on Malton Road
Three weeks after local residents sprayed weed killer onto an overgrown traffic island on Northfield Lane die back has been limited. Further investigation revealed that around 4 inches of silt had accumulated around the island. Moss is a major problem on this and other similar islands
The area in question is important because it is immediately adjacent to the Councils Poppleton Park and Ride site. It is one of the first (and last) neighbourhoods that tourists are likely to see. Neglect is not a good selling point for a City with an economy dependent on visitor income
The nearby A59 is worse with weeds around 1 metre high.
While we don’t advocate residents taking matters into their own
hands unless it is safe to do so, there are some roads where relatively little
local effort could produce a startling improvement.
In every problem location we do ask residents and visitors
to report obstructions – including excessive weed growth, overhanging hedges
and trees – to the York Council.
We understand that a Councillor plans to raise the issue of failures in this years weed control contract at an executive meeting which is taking place on Thursday. Despite there being 300 pages of reports to the meeting, they fail to review the Councils performance on key street level public services. The Councillors responsible for street public services are likely to come under increasing pressure to issue a public statement, and initiate a recovery plan, aimed at restoring acceptable standards.
