Askham Bar cycle parking in use
The new Askham Bar park and ride site on Tadcaster Road has proved to be popular with drivers.
Many have transferred from the, now closed, site adjacent to Tesco – making the most of the additional spaces now available.
At 11:00am today a small queue of bus passengers had formed.
However work on the site has still not been completed.
Official estimates say that it could be another 2 weeks before all the work is done.
Well used car park at Askham Bar
Still the Council were right to bring the site into service as soon as practical. It has reduced the number of vehicles on Tadcaster Road and buses are taking advantage of the reduced congestion to run into the City centre more quickly.
The situation at the other new site at Poppleton Bar couldn’t be a bigger contrast.
Fewer than 100 vehicles were using the car park there this morning.
A substantial amount of work needs to be done both on the car park and on the nearby highway network.
Askham Bar bus waiting area
Sources at the Council say that the project – which is 3 months behind its original schedule – will be finished in 3 weeks time. The contractors have apparently been given until the weekend of the Tour de France (5th July) to complete the works.
Unfortunately, by then, damage to the park and ride site’s reputation may be beyond repair.
Buses continue to be mired in a web of temporary traffic lights and lane restrictions.
Electric bus at Poppleton Bar
Today, rather than a queue of passengers waiting for buses, there was a queue of buses waiting for passengers.
Ironically one of the major improvements yet to be commissioned is the cycle underpass on the A1237. This was to be used to encourage cyclists to pedal to the park and ride site before boarding a bus to complete their journey.
It will not be used by the Tour de France competitors!
I used the Poppleton P and R today and while there is obviously much to be done on the infrastructure to say its reputation ‘may be beyond repair ‘ is nonsense. From my home which is 12 miles west of York I reached the city centre in 35 minutes despite just missing a bus. The buses are comfortable, the staff helpful and strangers to York were excited about the experience.