That was the week that was in photos

Good to see some patching work on the Herman Walk carriageway. Like the roads in the rest of the area a lot more work is needed if they are to be brought up to an acceptable standard.

Disappointing to see the safety barriers disassembled on Chesneys Field. They were put there to stop children using the play equipment at the height of the Coronavirus crisis. The Council now needs to decide whether it is going to continue to try to stop the equipment – which is not fenced off normally – being used or simply remove the equipment. Perhaps a reminder sign about hygiene could be put up?

Two shopping trolleys have made a break for freedom. One was last seen on Gale Lane while a second had made it as far as Cornlands Road. Both have been reported

& the wetter weather has seen weeds growing more quickly in gutters. We’ve reported those in The Reeves. We are about due to see the next round of weed treatment

More trees coming but what about maintaining existing ones?

More trees are set to be planted this year as part of the Councils response to climate change. 50,000 are promised.

Officials say that the programme has been delayed by the heath scare although little progress seems to have been made in securing sites for the “forest”.

Over the last few months, residents have laid informal claims for the use of some unused areas of land on the City outskirts as informal exercise areas. These would be a good place for the Council to start looking for locations for planting although it does own several sites, including some near the river, which could accommodate more trees.

Informal walks through Acomb Wood, and the like, have brought home to more people the value of informal leisure space. Any Council initiative is likely to have popular support if it is pressed through quickly now.

Hopefully they will remedy the mistakes of the past and avoid planting inappropriate species of trees too close to paths and highways.

We have already learned that nearly £500,000 is required to repair part of the York – Selby cycle path which has been badly damaged by tree roots. One lesson is the need in the future to install “root shields” at vulnerable locations.

There are similar problems in the urban area

Root damage on snicket link to Thoresby Road. We’ve reported litter and weeds on the same snicket.

In same cases private hedges are now obstructing footpaths

The Council have now promised to trim the branch which is obstructing a footpath in the Kingsway West area

Weeds on Front Street. The council has treated some weed growth around amenity trees but has missed others. Doesn’t seem to be any consistency in their programme.

Cycle path cleared of obstructions

Its taken a long time, but the cycle path on Tadcaster Road (A1036) has finally been cleared of obstructions. A one metre margin has been cut and the worst of the overgrowing branches have been trimmed.

The Council still needs to apply some weed killer where grass is breaking through tde surface of the path.

There really needs to be an inspection regime put in place to avoid problems in the future on this, and other, dedicated paths.

Children’s playgrounds – does policy need to be reviewed?

The York Council took steps to secure playgrounds when the health crisis deepened in March.

Where playgrounds couldn’t be secured, some a attempt was made to surround equipment with barriers.

The intention was to stop transmission of the COVID virus through contact with the equipment. Similar campaigns were initiated on street gym equipment while the “wash your hands” message was continually reinforced.

After nearly 4 months, and with some children now returning to school, perhaps not surprisingly the lure of taking a turn on the play equipment is proving too be strong for some.

Children were playing on the climbing frame and on the zip wire on Foxwood Lane yesterday.

The Council needs to review its policies and – if appropriate – make additional efforts to discourage use of communal play equipment.

Barriers down and children playing on equipment in Foxwood

We’ve reported weeds growing out from a planter in the Front Street pedestrian area.

Also reported dumping on the Chesney Field snicket

Impeded paths blamed on damp weather vegetation growth

Grange Lane/Parker Avenue snicket is gradually getting narrower!

Trees are now blocking part of the path which links Kingsway West and Green Lane. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the grass. The trees are in the compound of the Council’s building contractor.

& another Council garage forecourt area apparently missed of the weed killing list. This one on Windsor Garth

York Council now tackling weed growth issues in west York

Pleased to report that the Council has been out and about dealing with some of the issues that we have reported regarding weed growth. Several areas have been cleared this week including the little Green Lane garage forecourt. .

The Kingsway West garage forecourt area has been cleared of weeds.

Weeds have been cleared from Hotham Avenue and Sandown Close (Windsor Garth)

The Marston Avenue garage area is also now clear of weed growth

Still a lot to do. The next application of weedkiller is due at the end of the month.

Fly tipping, weed control contract under scrutiny again

We had hoped that work on keeping paths and hard surfaced areas free of weed growth would be more successful than last year.

Despite treatment starting over a month ago it does look like several areas have again been missed off the programme.

Local residents have treated parts of some problem areas to test how long proprietary weedkillers take to clear undergrowth off paths and forecourts.

If the treatment is successful then there will be some serious questions for the Council to answer about their performance.

Residents have started to clear the weeds from round the trees near Herman Walk. Three of the trees ate dead and we hope to see them replaced in the autumn

Playgrounds still closed because of the health crisis. We hope that the Council will have repaired the equipment before the Chesney Field area is brought back into use

Still some dumping around. We’ve reported this trolley which was left in the Chapelfields area

We’ve also reported rubbish left on Askham Lane (rural)

Invasive weeds on the march again

We hoped that we had seen the last of the damaging weed growth that threatened to wreck footpath and forecourt surfaces last summer.

The Council’s weed control programme failed last year but there are hopes that things will be better this year.

We were advised that a first application of weed killer to paths and gutters took place in April.

Recent damp but warm weather has encouraged plant growth and the inevitable appearance of weeds. There seems to be little evidence in some streets and back lanes of “die back” from the application.

However weed control operatives have been seen in various parts of the City so it may be too early to draw conclusions.

One worrying trend has been the reappearance of tough weeds like “Horses/Mares Tail”. There have been sightings of this pervasive and destructive weed in several locations including Windsor Garth, Green Lane, Kir Crescent and Marston Avenue. In each case damage is being caused to footpath or road surfaces. This is likely to be expensive to repair.

There is a proprietary “diamond” weed killer which eliminates weeds like this as well as nettles and thistles. It is not clear whether the Council has specified the use of this product in problem areas.

If it hasn’t then it needs to get a move on with applying the chemical quickly to avoid further damage and expense.