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.
The council playgtounds at Woodthorpe Green, Nelsons Lane and Leeside were all re-opened on Saturday 11 July.
Signage has been put up encouraging the use of hand sanitiser and reminding users of the continued need for social distancing.
The two playgrounds on the Revival estate remain closed. Greenbelt, the facilities management company which is responsible for the playgrounds, has yet to confirm that they have undertaken the necessary checks before the play areas can be re-opened.
On the back of some queries about the history of the rock that sits at the centre of the recreation space off Girvan Close, former councillor Ann Reid has provided some helpful background information.
When the nearby housing was given planning permission, this piece of land was allocated as a play area and the developers were supposed to equip it. Nothing happened until the council managed to secure some money from them so that they could do the work.
Objections to the site being fitted with play equipment were raised by residents and so the funds were instead used to landscape the area, fence it off and provide features for imaginative play. Hence the bamboo, the mound and the rock. Originally there were more stones along the ridge that looked a bit like a serpent and provided some seating. It was intended to be a dog free area.
At some point after 2003 ‘the serpent’ was removed following complaints about young people gathering on the seats and causing nuisance. Attempts to remove the rock were resisted as it is a bit of a feature and is not causing any harm.
City of York Council has today (3 July) published details of its plans to re-open its playgrounds around the city.
Woodthorpe Green playground is soon to re-open
Following the Government announcement on 23 June that play areas can reopen from 4 July, the council is putting in place a rolling programme to re-open its play areas starting on 8 July, subject to the necessary signage and social distancing measures being in place.
In re-opening council play areas, consideration has been given to the latest Government guidance
All council play areas will be inspected by council staff prior to re-opening to ensure safety standards are met.
Users will be asked to follow social distancing guidance and make their own hand sanitising arrangements. Where practical, a one-way in / out system will be instigated for those play areas surrounded by a fence. This will be supported with appropriate signage and the impact monitored, with a review due to take place in mid-September.
On 30 June it was announced that City of York Council has been awarded £5million by the Department for Transport to carry out repairs on Tadcaster Road, following a successful bid to the Government’s Transport Challenge Fund 2020.
Cllr Paula Widdowson at a newly-resurfaced stretch of Tadcaster Road
The additional funding will be used to carry out wholesale maintenance on Tadcaster Road, including road repairs and drainage, in order to complement works the Council has carried out in recent years such as the replacement of ageing traffic lights, better cycling measures, junction improvements and resurfacing works.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of the Council, commented:
“We are pleased to be awarded £5million by the Department for Transport to carry out much-needed road improvements along Tadcaster Road. This is a key route into York, not only used for local journeys, but by millions of visitors and commuters every year. The wholesale maintenance works will help to improve traffic flow and ensure the city’s local road network is safe and more reliable for all residents”
Cllr Stephen Fenton, Lib Dem Councillor for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, said:
“I welcome this additional funding which will enable further works on this crucial route in the city. The council has just invested over £600k in resurfacing of a large section of Tadcaster Road, and this new funding will open up opportunities to make further improvements. Whether using our Park & Ride to access the city centre, visiting York Racecourse or just cycling into town; Tadcaster Road is a pivotal route and this investment couldn’t come soon enough.”
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
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 23 June, York Explore have announced their plans for re-opening York’s libraries. Smaller libraries, including Dringhouses, will remain closed during this first stage of re-opening.
Dringhouses library will remain closed for the time being
From Monday 6 July the following libraries will be open for pre-booked appointments only:
– Central library
– Acomb
– Clifton
– Tang Hall
– Mobile library
At these libraries you will be able to collect and return books and use the public computers and printers.
The new reading café in Hungate will open for the first time on 7 July. The cafes at Rowntree Park and Homestead Park open on 6 July . All will be serving drinks and snacks to take away and enjoy outside.
Opening hours at libraries will be 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday.
More information can be found at the Explore website HERE
Local councillors have thanked City of York Council and contractors for the smooth running of the resurfacing works along Tadcaster Road.
The works are now complete and reinstatement of road markings are nearing completion. Cycle lanes have been widened to the standard 1.5 metre width along some sections of the road and the previous very narrow ‘filter box’ for vehicles and cycles turning right onto Nelsons Lane has been removed.
The presence of pedestrian refuges acted as a constraint in enabling more sections of cycle lane to be widened, which has led to calls for their replacement with zebra crossings to provide better facilities for pedestrians, slow traffic down and remove pinch points along the road for cycling.
The whole corridor from the Askham Bar Park & Ride site to Micklegate Bar is in need of a review to identify and tackle issues and obstacles that make people less likely to cycle along this route.
In recent months it has been great to see more people cycling, with many trying new routes. Questions have been raised about the rationale for the current cycle barrier arrangements at some of the entrance points to Hob Moor and how changes might be made which could improve access for bicycles of all types.
Current position
Restricting barriers are in place at the following points on the moor – Railway underpass, Hob Moor Drive, Green Lane, Hob Stone Court (entrance onto the moor heading north), Hob Stone Court (on path from the Kingsway West entrance) and Kingsway West.
The barriers in use at these locations consist of:
a cattle grid leading to a raised ‘chain catcher’ plinth and shoulder-height guards
a kissing gate
a locked swing gate
A RADAR key which opens the swing gate can be purchased from City of York Council at a cost of £3, though on the council and i-Travel York websites there seems to be no explicit mention of the fact that these keys can be used to open these gates.
History
The current barrier arrangements were installed following planning permission being granted in August 2004. The issue was subject to coverage in The Press at that time.
From the information I have been able to gather, the barriers were installed in response to motorbikes using the moor, which was an issue that emerged in the 1990s. This behaviour caused nuisance to the residents whose properties are adjacent to the moor and posed a danger to grazing cattle. I also understand that easy access to the moor on motorbike was used by criminals to evade the Police. It was also considered safer to slow cyclists at the access points to the moor where sight lines are poor and a speeding cyclist could represent a threat to themselves, pedestrians and other cyclists.
There is a recognition by council officers that a review of barrier design across the city is needed, but this has not yet happened.
Analysis
The York Cycle Campaign (YCC) registered their objections to the barriers at the time they were installed. When considering changes to the current arrangements, I believe that views should be sought from a range of individuals and organisations with a legitimate interest, including:
Neighbouring residents
The farmer whose cattle graze the moor
The Police
Friends of Hob Moor
City of York Council planning, transport, ecology and legal officers
Ward councillors for Dringhouses & Woodthorpe, Westfield and Holgate wards
YCC and other cycling and access groups, eg Cycling UK York branch
It would be helpful to understand whether the threat posed by inappropriate use of motorbikes remains as great as when the barriers were installed. It would also be good to better understand from YCC members and access groups why the RADAR key option for securing access to the moor may not be a viable option. Is it due to the difficulty in getting hold of a key, or a (not unreasonable) wish to have barrier-free access without having to plan ahead for every trip?
There are a range of possible options, set out below. This is not an exhaustive list and some could be considered in conjunction.
Remove the plinths and shoulder-height guards
Pros – would facilitate easier access to the moor for more types of bicycles / trailers
Cons – would allow motorbikes onto the moor, may not allow sufficient width for some bicycles / trailers that would still need to use the swing gate, may require planning permission
Remove just the plinths
Pros – would facilitate easier access to the moor for bicycles, could be used as a ‘trial’ to see if the shoulder guards alone act as a deterrent for motorbikes
Cons – May allow motorbikes onto the moor, may not allow sufficient width for some bicycles / trailers that would still need to use the swing gate, may require planning permission
Promote awareness of the option to obtain a RADAR key and make it easier to obtain one
Pros – if successful, could make access to the moor more inclusive
Cons – does not facilitate easy access without forward planning
Replace the RADAR key with a technological solution, eg users are issued with a fob which triggers the gate to open when they ‘touch in’ and closes behind them
Pros – if successful, could make access to the moor more inclusive and may not require cyclists to dismount to open the gate with a key
Cons – possibly expensive, no ‘off the shelf’ product immediately available, would require maintenance, does not facilitate easy access without forward planning
Do nothing
Pros – it continues to be very difficult for motorbikes to access the moor
Cons – the current barrier arrangements continue to pose an awkward obstacle for many cyclists and do not permit access to the moor for non-standard bicycles or trailers which can only gain access via use of a RADAR key to open the swing gates
Next steps
A number of possible actions arise which may help to gather information to inform recommendations and decisions going forward.
Ask the Police whether the threat posed by inappropriate use of motorbikes remains as great as when the barriers were installed
Ask Dringhouses & Woodthorpe, Westfield and Holgate ward councillors whether their local knowledge indicates if the threat posed by inappropriate use of motorbikes remains as great as when the barriers were installed
Ask neighbouring residents for their views
Ask YCC and other cycling and access groups for their views
Ask council planning, transport and legal officers whether planning permission would be needed for any alterations to be made to the current barrier arrangements
Ask the council transport team about the likelihood of a city-wide review of barrier types starting sometime soon, and what residents can do to help, eg mapping barriers
Ask the council’s Ecology officer what issues, if any, have been encountered in recent years in relation to damage to habitat on the moor caused by motorbike incursions
Ask the farmer what issues, if any, have been encountered over recent years in relation to motorbike-related anti-social behaviour and the welfare of the cattle
Ask Friends of Hob Moor for their views
Explore options for a technological replacement for the RADAR keys
The good weather has allowed the crews to make good progress with the resurfacing work on Tadcaster Road.
Tadcaster Road
We await proposals from council officers about how they plan to take the opportunity to improve safety for cyclists when the road markings are reinstated.
Some much-needed large patching has also been done on Hob Moor Terrace.
