Following on from the re-painting work done late last year, further improvements have been made to bus shelters in Acomb Park and Woodthorpe.
The badly degraded perspex sheets in the shelters on Alness Drive and Moor Lane have been replaced with panels of toughened glass. The previous poor state of the bus shelters meant that people waiting inside often struggled to see through the cloudy perspex to see the bus coming.
Moor LaneAlness Drive
However elsewhere in the ward it is proving a struggle to get basic repairs made to damaged shelters (which are also in need of repainting), such as on Ryecroft Avenue, pictured below.
First York has announced changes to some aspects of the operation of the number 3 Askham Bar Park & Ride service from Sunday 17 January.
The changes have been prompted by the use of part of the Park & Ride site to support the operation of the COVID vaccination centre located at the former Park & Ride site.
Buses will no longer leave the Park & Ride site via the bus-only road but will instead enter and leave via the Askham Bar entrance/exit towards Tadcaster Road (see the red line on the map). This will not affect where you board the bus from. On journeys towards Askham Bar, services will stop at the Moor Lane Car Park (red ‘X’ near the top of the map) instead of the Tesco Car Park.
A number of bus shelters around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe are getting a much needed revamp.
Shelters are being rubbed down and given a fresh coat of paint. The perspex panels at some shelters – such as on Moor Lane near the junction with Moorcroft Road – are being replaced. This will hopefully make it easier for people inside the shelter to see the bus coming!
For some time the council has been giving consideration to measures to tackle inconsiderate and irresponsible parking on Moorcroft Road near to the GP practice and the dentists, which often leads to the number 12 bus getting stuck.
In February proposals for double yellow lines on both sides of Moorcroft Road were published and formally consulted on. The extent of the restrictions that were proposed is set out on the map below.
Council officers have reviewed the feedback received through the consultation exercise, and as a result are recommending a revised scheme that would see double yellow lines installed on just one side of the road, between number 34 and the GP surgery.
The recommendation will go to a Decision Session of the Executive Member for Transport to be held on 21 July at 9.30am. This is a public meeting that will be held remotely. The papers for the meeting have been published on the council website HERE – the recommendations relating to Dringhouses & Woodthorpe are at agenda item 5, Annex C.
At a public meeting organised by ward councillors on 18 February at Moor Lane Youth Centre, a number of suggestions were put forward by residents to help tackle problem parking. These are all being pursued:
– Liaise with the GP surgery and dentist to encourage them to alert their clients to the availability of two hours free parking behind the shops and put them in touch the owners of the car parks behind the shops about permit parking for staff
– Install a dropped kerb outside the GP practice to enable them to create additional parking bays in front of the surgery
– Install a ‘Two hours free parking’ sign on the lamp post at the entrance to the shops car park
– Install white H-Bars across the driveways of the high-numbered properties on Bramble Dene to discourage visitors to the GP surgery and dentist from blocking driveways
The double yellow line recommendations for the Pulleyn Drive / White House Gardens juncton and the Yorkcraft slip road are unchanged from those advertised in February. The proposed double yellow lines for North Lane are not recommended for approval after considerable opposition was expressed, but instead it is proposed to install a white ‘H-Bar’ marking opposite the private driveway leading to four properties.
First York is adding more journeys on its services from Sunday 28 June to cater for an increase in travel.
The enhancements are being made to help manage continued capacity restrictions on buses due to social distancing as further lockdown measures are eased.
For the number 4, the frequency of buses increases to every 8/9 minutes during the day Monday to Friday and every 12 minutes on a Saturday
For the number 12, buses are restored to every 30 minutes between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays.
Full details of the changes and timetables can be found on the First website
First Bus has announced further changes to timetables to come into effect from Sunday 29 March.
The number 12 service will operate a special timetable with buses every 60 minutes and early journeys on weekdays. Journeys after 7pm will continue to operate, subject to a usage review.
The number 4 service will operate a revised timetable operating every 30 minutes during the daytime with early journeys operating Monday to Friday. Services will operate at hourly intervals during the evening, with a reduction to hourly intervals earlier on a Saturday and Sunday evening than at present.
The Askham Bar Park & Ride service will be closed.
The subsidy for the section of the number 12 bus route which serves Alness Drive, Acomb Wood Drive and Bellhouse Way is to be extended until April 2020. But beyond then, a subsidy of £65,000 per year is being sought in order to retain that section of the route.
Local Lib Dem councillors are campaigning to protect bus services
An Officer Decision published by City of York Council (available HERE) states that a report will be prepared for the council’s Executive to consider the long-term funding given the annual cost is greater than the budget available.
Some key headlines from the published Decision are set out below:
First York planned to cancel service 3A, and the section of service 12 which connects Bellhouse Way, Acomb Wood Drive and Alness Drive with the city centre and Monks Cross, with effect from 29th September 2019. City of York Council agreed temporary funding for both services until 1st February 2020
A fully compliant tender process has been carried out and the winning bidder is prepared to provide an equivalent service to the existing route 12 (with vehicles meeting the Clean Air Zone emissions requirement) for approx. £65k per annum
The cost of operating both services from 2nd February until 31st March would be £14,800 (£4k for service 3A and £10.8k for service 12), which is within budget for the 2019/20 financial year
The cost of operating both services throughout 2020/21 and subsequent financial years would be £88,700 per annum (£24k for service 3A and £64.7k for service 12), which exceeds the anticipated subsidised bus budget for 2020/21 by around £26k. It is therefore not possible to fund both services beyond 4th April 2020 from within the budget.
Local Lib Dem councillors will continue to work with council officers and bus operators to maintain and improve bus services which provide a lifeline for many residents.
City of York Council will be carrying out carriageway maintenance works at St Helens Road starting on 10 February 2020 for a period of 2 days (weather permitting). The works will be carried out between 9.15am and 4.30pm.
The works will consist of resurfacing the road and the reinstatement of all road markings. The speed humps will be put back at a later date which will not require a road closure.
In order to carry out these works safely the use of a temporary road closure from the junction at Tadcaster Road up to, but not including, the junction of Eason View will be necessary whilst works are taking place. A clearly signed diversion route will be set out for through traffic.
All on street parking will be suspended at these times but any specific access requirements maybe arranged by speaking to the Site Traffic Management Operatives who will co-ordinate with residents and business requirements around ongoing construction operations. Any vehicle remaining on the street during the suspension time may be liable to a parking fine and removal costs.
Household waste and recycling collections will take place as normal. Buses will be diverted during working hours.
The diversions for bus services are as follows: Towards Acomb: Tadcaster Road, Moor Lane, Chaloners Road, Eason View, Turnmire Roadd, Thanet Rd, Eason View, Chaloner’s Road. Towards York: Chaloners Road, Eason View, Turnmire Rd, Thanet Rd, Eason View, Chaloners Rd, Moor Lane, Tadcaster Rd.
In addition to the above, the council will be carrying out kerbing and drainage works on 3rd and 4th February working 9.30m – 4.00pm. These works will be carried out under local traffic management and the road will be open as normal. Parking will be suspended during this time also.
Emergency services will be permitted through the works in any situation. Cyclists will have to dismount and use the footways.
A new timetable for the number 12 bus service will come into effect on Monday 2 December.
The timetable is available online on the First website HERE
The changes are designed to improve punctuality, with four buses on the route rather than three. The daytime frequency also increases slightly to every 35 minutes.
Local Lib Dem councillors have gathered feedback from residents about the number 12 service
A large number of residents have raised concerns with local councillors about the reliability of the service over recent months. The end of major road works on The Mount and Coppergate should help to improve matters.
Bus stop
timetable posters will be updated later this week.
