Quiet on York roads so far this morning!

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The Council have issued the following media release

City of York Council is reminding residents and visitors to plan ahead for Saturday 2 May when stage two of the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire will finish in York. A women’s race will take place ahead of the stage two finish, covering four laps of the 20km circuit from 10.30am.

Dame Sarah Storey and Joanna Rowsell will line up alongside nearly 100 of the UK’s best female cyclists to tackle four laps of the 20km circuit. At approximately 2.25pm the Tour de Yorkshire peloton, including Sir Bradley Wiggins and Olympic gold medallist Samuel Sanchez, will enter the circuit from Holtby and take on two and a half laps of the circuit before a dramatic finish on Knavesmire Road.

The circuit will see the riders start at the Knavesmire before heading through Micklegate Bar and crossing Ouse Bridge. They will then continue through the city centre and on to Layerthorpe before heading out via Heworth and Stockton Lane to Murton. They will then pass through Osbaldwick, Tang Hall and Layerthorpe. The peloton will then go over Skeldergate bridge, down Bishopthorpe Road and rejoin Knavesmire Road for the start/finish line.

The New Ebor Street Feast will add a splash of fun and a hint of magic to what already promises to be a fantastic day. Positioned alongside the finish line on the Knavesmire the festival with give spectators, residents and visitors a chance to sample some of the finest food and drink Yorkshire has to offer.

York will also play host to several street parties throughout the day, including the ‘E by Eck’ street party on Bishy Road, and a day of events in both Fossgate and Micklegate.

Residents and tourists are advised that the route will be closed from 8am on Saturday 2 May until approximately 5pm, or as soon as possible after the race has finished. During the time that the roads are closed their will be no access for vehicles to properties either adjacent to or on the race route itself. This will also include streets connected to the route that can not be accessed from elsewhere.

Anyone who is planning to travel on Saturday 2 May will need to ensure that they have parked their vehicle in an area where they can access the remaining open road network. No vehicles will be allowed to drive on the race route after road closures are in place. Residents are also advised to pass this information to anyone intending to visit them during the weekend.

For more information on the Tour de Yorkshire in York visit www.york.gov.uk/tdy. For more information on travelling in York visit www.itravelyork.info

Tour de Yorkshire – briefing for Dringhouses residents on 5th March

Residents, businesses and local groups are being invited to find out more about the Tour de Yorkshire, at a series of information sessions held across the city.

People can expect to find out more on arrangements for routes, traffic management and travelling around the city for the event on 2 May. Several Tour de Yorkshire drop-in sessions will take place in the entrance hall at the councils West Offices in the run up to the race, including:

• Tuesday 24 February – 10am-12noon
• Tuesday 24 March – 2-4pm
• Friday 24 April – 10am-2pm

In addition, several Residents’ Forums and Parish Council meetings will have information on the Tour de Yorkshire, including:

• Wednesday 25 February, Stockton Parish Council, Stockton-on-the-Forest Village Hall from 7.30pm
• Wenesday 4 March, Haxby and Wigginton Residents Forum, Ralph Butterfield’s School, 7pm
• Thursday 5 March, Dringhouses’ Residents Forum, St Edward’s the Confessor Church, Tadcaster Road, 7pm
• Monday 9 March, Haxby Town Council, Memorial Hall, Haxby, 7.30pm
• Tuesday 17 March, Osbaldwick Parish Council, St Thomas’ Church from 7-pm
• Wednesday 18 March, Huntington Parish Council, Huntington Community Centre, 7pm
• Wednesday 25 March, Clifton Residents Forum, Clifton Green Primary School, 7pm

The Council says: “As we are able to progress our plans we want to inform residents of the best viewing options and how they can go about moving around the city on 2 May. We hope residents and visitors will start creating a plan for their day in advance so they are able to fully enjoy it.”

Council taxpayers are coughing up over £150,000 to subsidise the event which is taking place on a busy bank holiday!

For more information on the Tour de Yorkshire visit www.york.gov.uk/info/200721/tour_de_yorkshire

York Council plans to spend £250,000 on “Tour de Yorkshire” cycling event as

More cuts to local environment planned

It looks like Labour Councillors want to spend another £1/4 million on a 3 day cycling event next May. One of the stages of the new “Tour de Yorkshire” will finish in York with several local sprint races planned.

Taxpayers will be expected to pick up the bill, from the commercial rights owners, for a whopping £100,000 “hosting fee” for the event,.

A report which is being considered tomorrow, by the Councils Cabinet, shows no sponsorship or admittance fees aimed at offsetting the bills.

A decision will apparently be made before the Inquiry into the disastrous Grand Departy flop is completed.

Organisers were forced to admit a couple of months ago that the Huntington Stadium event – staged separately from the Tour de France start – had lost over £186,000. An inquiry into the event was subsequently ordered by the Council’s scrutiny committee.

More Cuts

The same Council Cabinet agenda talks of major cuts to basic service standards.

Road surfaces in Queenswood Grove breaking up

Road surfaces  already breaking up

£1.3 million a year will be cut from social care budgets.

As well as the much publicised proposals to charge for green bin emptying and move to 4 weekly residual waste collections, Labour are now admitting that more cuts are planned to open space maintenance.

Volunteers will apparently be expected to maintain bowling greens, tennis courts, flower beds and undertake rose planting. The report says that the “replacement of bedding plants with ornamental grass at 18 sites could potentially save 1,519 hours of labour”.

Ominously the report talks of York’s roads and footpaths being “better than average” suggesting that further cuts in maintenance standards are planned.

Many residents will view with incredulity any proposals which would allow a further deterioration in the standard of highways surfaces.