Students from a secondary school in York are among the first to take part in this year’s cycle training course, offered by City of York Council.

Youngsters from Millthorpe School are taking part in the Bikeability training session, to showcase their new cycling achievements.

For a small fee all York students aged between 12 and14 years of age can now train and qualify for the Bikeability Level three cycle training, which is the only government approved cycle training scheme.

The course targets children’s daily commute to school and helps develop their overall awareness and cycle safely skills on all types of roads, which is particularly important as the evenings get darker in the winter months.

John Bullock, Cycle trainer, said: “By teaching children how to cycle safely now, we are giving them the choice of a low cost, healthy, sustainable transport option for the rest of their lives”

Sessions are two-hours long, with a fully qualified cycle trainer.

Bikeability is delivered by the council’s Road Safety team, who visit York’s schools on a regular basis to guide pupils through the programme.

For more information please visit www.itravelyork.info or follow@itravelyork on Twitter.

Vandalism suspect

York police are appealing for information after a car was damaged outside a supermarket at Monks Cross.

Officers have released a CCTV image of man suspected of causing the damage which occurred in Sainsburys car park at around 6.35pm on 29 August 2012.

The man is seen on CCTV using a key to scratch the side of a grey BMW 5 Series before going shopping in the store.

Officers are appealing to anyone who recognises the man to contact them with information.

Anyone who can help officers with their enquiries is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 – select option 2 – and ask for PC Rob Milliner or York police.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. Please quote reference number 12120175544 when passing information about this incident.

The Council has announced that it plans to make changes to the central area access arrangements.

These include:
• Standardising and extending the footstreet hours of operation to 10.30am to 5pm, 7 days a week ,

• Controlling vehicle use of Davygate (prohibiting all vehicles from using Davygate during the footstreet hours of operation including those with blue and green parking badges).

• amending the existing one way operation around St Sampson’s Square

• Further limiting the access in to the central area via the Nessgate / Spurriergate junction (24 hour vehicle ban)

Details of the proposals can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/York-centre-access-plan-Nov-12

Details of residents responses to a survey on the future of the City Centre are shown in the report. They indicate a very low response rate.

Decisions on the proposals will be taken by a Labour Councillor at a meeting next Monday.

The Council have discontinued the annual survey which allowed residents to decide how Ward Committee budgets should be allocated.

There is a survey being conducted, into what the Council claims to be “local priorities”, but it is so well hidden on the their web site that few, if any, will find it.

Click here to participate http://tinyurl.com/York-ward-Nov-12

There is only one question to answer!

Funding proposals for cycle path click to enlarge

As previously reported, the Council are proposing to construct a bridleway linking Rufforth to Knapton. It is likely to be used by some cyclists to avoid the B1224.

The Council has been conducting a low profile consultation exercise on its web site on the plans. http://www.york.gov.uk/transport/cycling/Rufforth-Knapton/

The consultation is due to finish on 16th November 2012.

The cost of the scheme is now put at £165,000.

However this does not include improvements to the arrangements for crossing the A1237 near Knapton.

It is this section of the route which is causing the most safety concerns.

The project is due to be discussed at a meeting taking place next Monday (19th Nov.)

The layout of 4 roads could be changed following investigations into speeding concerns.

The 4 roads are:

• Moor Lane, Woodthorpe.

• Top Lane, Copmanthorpe;

• Sim Balk Lane, Bishopthorpe (in 20 limit)

• Holtby Village (Willow Court)

Checks found that, although there have been few accidents on the roads, speeds were regularly above the limit. Now the Council is to consider undertaking engineering works that would discourage speeders.

There are already 43 sites on the list for engineering works and, with the Council set to spend £600,000 on implement a city-wide 20 mph speed limit, it is likely to be several years before funding is available to address this list.

A report to a Council meeting on 19th November confirms that the number of accidents on York’s roads are now fairly stable, having reduced considerably from a peak of 119 killed or seriously injured in 2001.

The comparable figure for 2011 was 63. There were also 489 slight injury accidents.

About half the casualties were car occupants. In the vast majority of cases speed was not found to be the principle cause of the accident.

A complete list of investigations and their results (including data for Acomb Wood drive) can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/York-speed-checks-Nov-2012

The Council is planning to reduce the speed limit on the A19 passing through Deighton Village.

Official are proposing that a 50 mph limit be introduced together with extended street lighting. Later a section of 40 mph limit may be introduced.

There have been ten injury accidents listed on this section of road within the last three years. The Police have objected tot eh changes pointing out that average speeds are already below 50 mph and speed was not a contributory factor in any of the accidents.

http://tinyurl.com/Deighton-19th-Nov-12

The design of new highways schemes are independently reviewed to ensure that the layouts proposed are the safest possible. Reviews have been completed for the new sites at Askham Bar and Poppleton Bar.

Askham Bar layout - click to enlarge

The results will be considered at a Council “decision” meeting on 19th November. http://tinyurl.com/York-P-R-19th-Nov

Issues identified included:

• Parking of camper vans

• Speed limits

• Landscaping requirements

• Provision of internal zebra crossings

• Highway markings (Askham bar)

• Installation of rising bollard to protect bus lane (Askham bar)

• Route of shared pedestrian/cycle path (Askham bar)

Copies of the new layouts can be found on the Councils web site

High accident levels at the St Leonard’s Place junction have prompted the Council, to propose a makeover to signs in the area. The junction is threatened with a more major change in the future as the Councils struggles to reconcile the need for easy access to the City centre with a plan to reduce traffic levels.

click to enlarge

Most of the accidents occur on the St Leonard’s approach to the junction and poor lane discipline is cited as one of the causes. One of the accidents involved a vehicle “shunting” into a cyclist in the advanced stop area.

Counter intuitively officials believe that reducing the number of pedestrian guard rails should also be considered (some have already gone).

Proposals have been developed to ensure that the traffic lanes on St Leonards Place are signed clearly, increase the amount of space available to cyclists prior to the stop line on Bootham, and reduce the amount of guardrail.

On St Leonard’s Place these improvements comprise adding another set of destination road markings and installing a lane destination sign in a more prominent position to replace an advance direction sign which in its current position is prone to being obscured by tree branches. In addition, it is proposed to extend the cyclist’s advance stop line box on Bootham by 2m.

Full report here: http://tinyurl.com/St-Leonards-Junc

City of York Council is once again inviting residents to try their hand at balancing the council’s budget for 2014/15, through an online budget evaluation tool called ‘YouChoose’.

The survey provides an estimated breakdown of where the council’s monies will be spent in 2014/15 and asks residents to tackle the difficult balancing act of cutting millions of pounds from its budget and keeping increases to council tax at no more than 2 per cent, whilst protecting vital services.

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