The cycle track between London Bridge and the Bishopthorpe FC pavillion is currently flooded.
The situation has has been exacerbated by a burst water main on Tadcaster Road.
An alternative route via Sim Balk Lane is available
Yorkshire Water hope to fix the leak today. It may be some time before the cycle path is clear of water
City of York Council has announced its programme of road and footpath repair and renewal work for the 2024/25 financial year.
Disappointingly, Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward will see £0 invested this year by the council to make local roads and footpaths safer. Badly potholed roads such as Middlethorpe Drive, Lycett Road, Hob Moor Terrace, Alness Drive and Acomb Wood Drive will continue to deteriorate, making it less likely that residents will choose to cycle rather than drive.
Footpaths across Woodthorpe in particular continue to deteriorate, with the top layer of tarmac crumbling away on streets such as Annan Close.
The local Lib Dem team will continue to report in locations in need of attention, though more often than not the response from the council is that no action is required.
Improvements to local bus shelters have got underway, with digital displays and audio installed at the bus shelters on Moorcroft Road (near the shops) and Eason View (near the junction with Chaloners Road).
The work has been made possible thanks to the £17.4m Bus Service Improvement Plan funding that was secured by the previous Lib Dem / Green administration which ran City of York Council before May 2023.
Where the display shows minutes, eg ’11 minutes’ then that is a real time estimate based on location information sent by the bus. When the bus is approaching (less than 1 minute away) it will display “Due”. If the display does not receive information from the vehicle it will display the scheduled timetable departure from that stop eg ‘12.25’.
The display may not receive information for a variety of reasons such as the equipment on the bus is missing/faulty or it is passing through an area with poor network signal. It is only as good as the information provided by the operators.
It is planned to roll out these features to more bus shelters over the coming months.
City of York Council has published an ‘Officer Decision‘ setting out the details of the £600k overspend that will mean that some of the measures to support walking, cycling and bus use along the Tadcaster Road corridor have been dropped. The report states….
“The ground conditions issues arose from an early stage in the project and have been monitored from early in 2023. The project team initially instigated a ‘value engineering’ exercise in conjunction with the contractor. This is an exercise to identify where proposed works can be removed from the scheme without detriment to the outcomes, and also where time can be reduced by approaching the work in a different way.
When it was realised that ‘value engineering’ on its own would be insufficient to meet the needs of reducing costs, a second process of more difficult decisions was undertaken. This involved cutting back to the absolute minimum where proposed works would be allowed to go ahead.
However it should be borne in mind that some items of work have gone past a point of no return and have to be completed. Likewise, finishing off processes such as carriageway surfacing, have to address the requirements of surface regularity and therefore have to be scheduled in.”
There is understandable dismay that the section of the route which is arguably most problematic for cyclists and pedestrians – the very narrow shared path near to Dringhouses Cemetery – will see no improvements, at least in the immediate future.
In better news, council officers have shared with local councillors details of a separate scheme to improve the spiral path at the entrance to the Solar System Way.
The long-awaited improvements at this location were required as a condition of the planning permission that was granted for the construction of the Bishopthorpe White Rose football pitches which have been in use for some time.
Council officers have indicated that they do not believe that planning permission is needed for the path improvements here, as they are discharging a planning condition associated with the football pitches. It is understood that the works will get underway in March or April.
The plans shared with local councillors are set out below.
As reported in the recent Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Focus newsletter, the scheme to deliver improved drainage and ‘active travel’ measures along the Tadcaster Road corridor will not be completed before Christmas. Initially the end date was advertised as September 2023.
Tree roots and unmapped gas pipes have led to more hand digging than had been anticipated, and an archaeological ‘watching brief’ has also apparently slowed the pace of work.
The scheme is jointly funded by the Department for Transport (£5 million) and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (£1.4 million).
Local councillors had raised concerns about confusion caused by the failure to install markings on the new cycle by-pass opposite the Slingsby Grove shops, but we are pleased to report that markings have now been painted – including a ‘mini zebra’ where the footpath intersects the cycle path.
A report tabled for discussion at a meeting of the council’s Executive on 16 November confirms that the scheme is £600,000 over budget and that some elements of the scheme are likely to be dropped. The report states: “A formal approach to WYCA as one of the existing funding bodies to see if additional funding can be secured has been made. If additional funding cannot be found to support the project then decisions on value engineering to bring the project within budget and slip elements of the current project into consideration for future phases.”
The project team has held two recent ‘drop-in’ sessions for residents, with further sessions planned in December and January.
Meanwhile the project team has published an information / FAQ document with details of forthcoming resurfacing work, which will require some overnight road closures. The document is reproduced below.
Nighttime Resurfacing Schedule for Tadcaster Road
Each night-time road closure will be undertaken between 9.30pm to 6.00am and will be from Sunday evening to Saturday morning, with no works taking place on Saturday daytime or night-time.
PHASE 1:
Wednesday 22 November, until Friday 8 December, working Sunday evening to Saturday morning only between the hours of 9.30pm to 6.00am.
Approximate durations for each closure are as follows:
• Wednesday 22 November until Friday 24 November: between Knavesmire Road and Dalton Terrace
• Sunday 26 November until Friday 1 December: between St Helen’s Road and Knavesmire Road
• Sunday 3 December until Thursday 7 December: between Moor Lane and St Helen’s Road
PHASE 2:
Wednesday 3 January until Saturday 13 January, working Sunday evening to Saturday morning only between the hours of 9.30pm to 6.00am.
Approximate durations for each closure are as follows:
• Wednesday 3 January until Friday 5 January: between Knavesmire Road and Dalton Terrace
• Sunday 7 January until Tuesday 9 January: between St Helen’s Road and Knavesmire Road
• Wednesday 10 January until Friday 12 January: between Moor Lane and St Helen’s Road
PHASE 3:
Monday 15 January until Sunday 28 January: working Sunday evening to Saturday morning only between the hours of 9.30pm to 6.00am.
• between Sim Balk Lane and Moor Lane (please note the roundabout will remain operational for all other roads).
FAQ List
Q. My home is just off Tadcaster Road, how do I gain access to and from my address?
A. There will be five operatives one positioned at each of the road closures/access gates and a supervisor in the middle to escort vehicles through the closure when safe to do so. Anyone needing access in or out of the closure will need to drive to any one of the closure point where they will be approached by a gate man that will ask where they need access too so that the gate man can radio through to the supervisor to come and escort the vehicle in or out of the closure when safe to do so.
Q. What happens if an emergency vehicle requires entry?
A. In the event of an emergency please contact the emergency services as normal. Our traffic management team will provide access for emergency vehicles in all cases. Should you wish to contact our dedicated nighttime road closure supervisor, Lolly Hook, please contact her on 07971 840150, so our team can make any necessary arrangements in a timely manner.
Q. How much noise will occur whilst the resurfacing takes place?
A. A curfew of 11:30pm has been imposed for any breaking out of the road. These restrictions will be adhered to each night. The noise from any machinery will be infrequent.
Q. What will be the diversion routes to access my property?
A. Our traffic management will set up signage to indicate the most convenient diversion routes around where the resurfacing works are taking place.
Q. What if I can’t get out of my driveway?
A. If this is the case please contact our dedicated nighttime road closure supervisor, Lolly Hook, on 07971 840150. Lolly will be able to engage with our traffic management team to find any appropriate solution for you.
Q. What if I see anything that is unsafe practice?
A. Again, if this is the case please contact our dedicated nighttime road closure supervisor, Lolly Hook, on 07971 840150. Lolly will be able to action any practice you find unsafe or, in most cases, be able to answer your queries accurately.
Moor Lane resurfacing work gets underway on Monday 19 June at 7pm. The overnight closure of the road between Cairnborrow and Eden Close will have an impact on the number 12 and number 14 bus services.
Due to the location of the closure, buses will not be able to operate beyond Grassholme and will instead terminate at Woodthorpe shops.
This means that the stops on Moor Lane beyond Grassholme and on the Alness Drive / Acomb Wood Drive / Bellhouse Way / Foxwood Lane loop will not be serviced after 7pm for the next ten weekday evenings.
More information is available on the East Yorkshire buses website HERE
City of York Council has published its highways maintenance programme for 2023/24, available HERE. Decisions about which roads and footpaths are resurfaced are made by council officers, not by councillors.
In Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, £211,000 has been allocated for much-needed resurfacing of Moor Lane between the junctions with Cairnborrow and Eden Close.
It is also proposed to resurface a section of the A1237 roundabout at the end of Moor Lane.
A number of roads in the ward that are in very poor condition, such as Acomb Wood Drive, Crummock, Wains Grove, Hob Moor Terrace, Middlethorpe Drive and the Ryecroft Avenue / Acorn Way junction are not listed. There is however an extra £500,000 on its way from Government for pothole repair – this is welcome and will hopefully enable the council to repair potholes that it currently considers to be not worthy of fixing.
In relation to footpaths, ‘slurry sealing’ is proposed for the paths on Ashbourne Way, Acomb Wood Close, Foxton and Skiddaw.
In response to a request from local councillors, officers managing the Tadcaster Road highway / drainage / active travel scheme have made more information available on the location and duration of temporary traffic lights.
The implementation of temporary traffic lights at the junction of Tadcaster Road and Knavesmire Road has understandably led to delays, and whilst there is useful information on the council website, a number of residents pointed out that there was no mention of where temporary traffic controls would be used.
This has now been rectified, with information added at https://www.york.gov.uk/roadworks-closures-diversions/tadcaster-road-improvements/3 detailing where temporary traffic lights will be used.
The project team will also be holding two further drop-in sessions for local residents at St Edward’s Church on Thursday 2nd March 5-8pm and Sunday 5th March 12:30 – 4pm.
Councillor Stephen Fenton has asked council officers to work with Transdev to implement a change to the timetable for the number 12 bus service so that it will enable young people to get to school on time.
Transdev took over the route on 23 January after First Bus decided to withdraw from running the service. The service runs on a hourly basis, with Transdev agreeing with council officers to retain the number 12 timetable operated by First. The 12A service ended, but it was the timings of this service, rather than the 12, which best suited young people going to school.
For example, the current 12 timetable sees the bus depart Woodthorpe shops at 7.25am (which gets children to school too early) and 8.25am (which gets children to school too late).
This has led to a number of young people walking through to either Foxwood Lane or Eason View to catch the number 4 service operated by First, but this already busy service is struggling to cope – feedback from residents is that it is significantly overcrowded with the risk that passengers are left behind. This happened on Friday 27th January, when First ran a single decker which led to some passengers being left at the bus stop. Then on Monday 30th the scheduled number 4 service didn’t arrive, which again left passengers stranded.
Cllr Fenton has shared these example with council officers to highlight the need for a re-think of the number 12 timetable.
“Everyone wants the number 12 to be a success and to continue beyond the end of March. That is more likely to happen if the timetable is configured in a way that suits as many users of the service as possible, including young people going to school.”
Over 1,000 residents have signed a petition launched in December following an announcement by First that they plan to axe the number 12 bus service from 22nd January.
The online and hard copy petition – and an accompanying survey – was organised by Lib Dem councillors representing the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield wards, as the loss of the number 12 would leave many hundreds of residents in Woodthorpe, Acomb Park and Foxwood with no practical access to public transport.
As well as the petition and survey, councillors organised a public meeting, which took place on 18th December at St James the Deacon Church Hall in Woodthorpe. At the meeting around 40 residents shared why the service is important for them, and what they would like the service to look like in future, if it can be retained.
The feedback gathered has been shared with council officers, who are currently working to find an operator to take on the number 12 service after 22nd January.
Stephen Fenton, one of the Lib Dem councillors for Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, thanked all those residents who have signed the petition, completed the survey or attended the meeting. Cllr Fenton said: “It was clear from the turnout at the meeting that this is an issue which local residents feel very strongly about, and the numbers who have signed the petition further demonstrates the strength of feeling locally. There were many personal stories shared at the meeting about just how vital the bus service is to enable residents to get to school, college, work, medical appointments or just to have access to some social interaction.
“Many bus operators are struggling with increased costs and driver recruitment, which has impacted service reliability and in turn made it more difficult to retain and attract passengers. And with the Government financial support for the bus industry due to end in March, it has all created something of a ‘perfect storm.’ In York we are better placed than most to weather this storm, having successfully bid for £17m of Bus Service Improvement Plan funding, but the future remains uncertain. The priority has to be to retain geographical coverage to prevent many of York’s communities, such as Woodthorpe, being cut off from access to public transport.”
The petition reads “I the undersigned back the Lib Dem campaign to retain a bus service for the communities currently served by the number 12 and call for the Government help needed to ensure the service’s long term viability.”