Poppleton Bar delays continue as Council responds to Freedom of Information request

At the last Council meeting Councillors were told that all work on the Poppleton Bar Park and Ride project would be completed by the end of July.

No end to Poppleton Bar works

No end to Poppleton Bar works

However there is still a considerable amount of work outstanding with periodic impacts on congestion levels in the area.

While the final May deadline for conclusion of the whole Access York contract is long past, it is unclear why there are continuing delays at Poppleton (other than the obvious one that the contractors are simply not fully resourcing their contract obligations).

Cycle tunnel in use but no lane marking on paths

Cycle tunnel in use but no lane marking on paths

Councillor Ann Reid is now pressing for answers and some have emerged as responses to Freedom of Information requests

One (click to download) confirmed that the whole Access York project – of which the Poppleton works form part – was due to be completed by 23rd May.

Details of the road closure orders have also been published on the Council’s web site

Meanwhile, the permanent traffic signals at the A59 junction with the Park and Ride access road are now in place, but the following work is still outstanding

  1. Considerable surfacing and landscaping work
  2. White lining (e.g. on the cycle path exit from the A1237 pedestrian/cycle tunnel. (If this is intended to be a shared cycle/[pedestrian space then it does not seem to comply with the specification agreed with the Blind and Partially Sighted Association)
24 hour lighting on new roundabout

24 hour lighting on new roundabout

Yesterday (Thursday) the street lights in the area were permanently lit. Taken with the decision to exclude the provision of on-site electricity generation from the project, this does seem to fly in the face of the Councils environmental policies?

Drivers now want a realistic completion date for the project.

Residents would also like to be reassured that there are penalty clauses in the contract which will be invoked to compensate the Council, taxpayers and drivers for the inconvenience and additional expense that they have suffered over the last few months.

Askham Bar Park and Ride college boost

The Construction Division at York College has worked alongside main contractor Balfour Beatty to produce a fitting sculpture for the new Askham Bar Park&Ride site, owned by City of York Council and operated by First bus.

Askham Bar bus waiting area

Askham Bar bus waiting area

The sculpture, a medieval stone window in a brick surround, depicts the heritage of the city as the site is situated on the original roman road leading to the gateway to the City of York.
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Council now claims A59 Park and Ride site completion date is Thursday 31st July!

On site wind turbine scheme jettisoned

Councillor Leven has now given a absolute commitment that all works connected with the Poppleton Bar park and ride site – plus associated works on the A1237 and the A59 will be completed by 31st July.

In an answer published to a question tabled at the last Council meeting he says,the contractors are scheduled to leave site by the end of the month.

The premature opening of the Poppleton Bar site has also been under fire although the numbers using the service are claimed to be similar to the figures at other Park and Ride sites immediately after their introduction.

Month 1 trip numbers Month 13 trip numbers Month 25 trip numbers
Grimston Bar (1994): 3,889 14,525 21,891
Designer Outlet (2000): 9,606 18,495 21,524
Monks Cross (2004) 13,550 35,429 43,797
Poppleton Bar (2014) 9,148 (8/6/14 – 1/7/14)

From opening, the number of cars parked at the new Poppleton Park & Ride site is between 70 – 100.

On a Saturday this increases to 200.

Electric bus on charge

With many of the electric buses running empty, the Council has been criticised for unnecessarily increasing CO2 emissions.

In response to a written question the responsible cabinet member has revealed that the provision of an on site wind turbine was aborted at the last minute. He claimed,

“the electric buses charge overnight at the First Depot in York. The electricity grid is off-peak at this time and of lower carbon intensity. There was a wind turbine in the design for Poppleton Bar however the supplier went out of business a month before installation. Officers are currently exploring alternative suppliers of renewable generation equipment for Poppleton Bar which could supply sufficient power for the on-site Rapid chargers which boost the range of the electric buses”.

Poppleton park and ride road works 28th June 2014

Labour Councillors have claimed that the decision to open the Poppleton Park and Ride site was taken by “officers” implying that they had no influence over the blunder.

Despite this 3 Labour Councillors were featured in a media photograph which covered the sites official opening.

More lane closures on A59 near Poppleton

More traffic delays are in prospect as lane restrictions are re-introduced on the A59 near its Boroughbridge Road junction with the A1237.

The lane restrictions had been lifted for the Tour de France.

Now, with work at the junction dragging on, further congestion and inconvenience for drivers is expected.

The nearby Park and Ride site is also far from finished and the delays – and the decision of the Council – to start bus services from the unfinished site – will be considered at the York Council meeting next week (17th).

Questions tabled include:

(xxxiv) To the Cabinet Member for Transport from Cllr Reid:
“Who took the decision, and when, to open the new Park and Ride site at Poppleton before work had been completed (the outstanding works on 9th June included car parking space, signage, traffic signals, road junction layout, layout, A1237 junction improvements etc) and when will all work connected with the Park and Ride site and associated road works be completed?”

(xxxvi) To the Cabinet Member for Transport from Cllr Reid:
“ What has been the number of vehicles parked on average each day at the new Park and Ride site at Poppleton and how many passengers have been carried by the new buses on each day since 9th June?”

Poppleton Bar Park and Ride site still not completed

The York Council has missed yet another deadline for the “final” completion of the Park and Ride site at Poppleton.

Poppleton park and ride car park 28th June 2014

The Park and Ride service was opened prematurely by the Council 3 weeks ago although essential signage, traffic signals, parking bays, landscaping and improvements to the A1237/A59 junction had not been completed.

Not surprisingly, despite the novelty of being able to ride on the City’s first electric buses, user numbers have been very low.

Most bus services are running empty.

By Saturday evening carriageway surfacing had been completed near the roundabout but lane restrictions remain in place as work to access footpaths and the cycle path has yet to be finished.

The Park and Ride site itself resembles the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

It will present a poor backdrop for the TV pictures of the Tour de France riders who are scheduled to pass the site next Sunday morning.

TV coverage is scheduled to be beamed world wide and was one of the main reasons given by the Council for its £1.6 million investment in the event.

The Council has failed to provide any explanation for the latest delays nor for its decision to open the Park and Ride facility before work was completed.

The failure is the latest in a sting of misadventures which saw that Council forced to abandon plans to turn Monk Stray into a camping site and which has seen very low ticket sales for their highly expensive Grand Departee concert being held at Huntington Stadium on Thursday.

They have, however, now added the popular local band HUGE to the concert programme no doubt ensuring that the Council’s propaganda machine will be able to refer to a huge attendance at the event!

Poppleton park and ride road works 28th June 2014

 

 

 

 

Askham Bar new park and ride site opens on Sunday

Poppleton Bar park and ride site

Poppleton Bar park and ride site

The Council re claiming that battery powered buses will run from the Poppleton Park and Ride site from Sunday.

If they do, then it will be due to the efforts of workers on the car park and Poppleton roundabout improvements which were still far from finished earlier today.

Battery powered buses were first proposed by the, then LibDem controlled, Council in 2010.

The introduction of seven zero emission buses on the new park and ride route now is due to a grant from the coalition government.

It is a step in thr right direction.

However, there will be some concern that the new service is being introduced before works at the car park site (opposite the Wyevale garden centre) and on the A59/A1237 junction have been completed.

The new service needs to be a showpiece for the City – not just in terms of appearance, but also in providing a swift journey across a junction which has often been congested in the past.

We seem to be some days away from being able to guarantee that kind of improved visitor experience.

The new Park and Ride site at Askham Bar seems to be further advanced and should be ready for service on Sunday.

Approach to A59/A1237 roundabout

 

Night time road closure near Poppleton

City of York Council will be carrying out overnight works in the area surrounding the A59 in preparation for the new Poppleton Bar Park & Ride site.

The works will take place in two phases from Monday 31 March until Thursday 17 April and from Tuesday 6 May until Friday 23 May.

To allow the council to undertake overnight works temporary traffic signals or, in the second phase, overnight closures will be in place. The working hours will take place generally between 7pm until 6am, although some operations will be shorter than this.
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Pensioners face fares increase in York

The Council are imposing a 14% increase in fares for pensioner pass holders who use Park and Ride services.

Other passengers also face a 10p per journey increase.

The new fares, which will be introduced on 5th January, are as follows

Product Fare Buy from Format
Standard Return £2.60 (£2.70 from 5th Jan) Bus Driver Paper ticket
MinsterCard Return £2.30 (£2.40 from 5th Jan) Site Office Stored Value Smartcard
Concessionary Return 70p (80p from 5th Jan) Bus Driver Paper ticket
Weekly
MinsterCard		 £10.40 (£10.80 from 5th Jan) Site Office 1 Week Smartcard
Monthly
MinsterCard		 £41.60 (£43.20 from 5th Jan) Site Office 1 Month Smartcard
Annual
MinsterCard		 £416 (£432 from 5th Jan) Site Office 1 Year Smartcard

The York council claimed before Christmas that there had been an increase in bus usage since the summer and put it down to reduced bus fares.

http://www.itravelyork.info/park-and-ride/fares-and-passes