Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire
Roads on the route of Stage 1 and 2 of the Tour de France will be closed for a minimum of eight hours, to allow the race to take place. This will allow time to prepare the race route, hand over the roads to the race organisers, to let the publicity caravan and the race pass, then to remove race infrastructure and let spectators disperse safely. Most roads will reopen by the evening.
Once roads have closed to traffic, it will generally still be possible for cyclists and pedestrians to use them until 30 minutes before the caravan arrives. In an interview with road.cc, Bob Brayshaw, Director of Safety and Security at TDF Hub Ltd, said, 'Cyclists and pedestrians will be able to use the route up until 30 minutes before the caravan arrives. Along the route pedestrian access will be available through stewarded crossing points.'
'Although the route must be clear half an hour before the caravan coming through, about two hours before the race, this guidance may change for operational reasons. Follow the advice of stewards to stay safe. If you are planning to take your bike with you, plan to make it your primary mode of transport, so ride it to and from the Tour.'
(We have a separate section with information on road closures on Stage 3).
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Leeds
Leeds City Council's information on road closures says roads on the route, and those only accessible via the route, will be closed until about 3pm on Saturday 5th July. The time when the roads will close varies according to sector:
- the city centre, as far as Regent Street, will be closed except for public transport and some car parks from midnight on Friday night (4th July 2014).
- from Regent Street to the A6120 Ring Road will be closed from 4.30am.
- from Harewood to the A6120 (southbound, towards Leeds) will be closed from 4.30am; the A61 (northbound) from the A6120 to Harewood will be open until 6.30am only for cars going to park at Harewood
- from Harewood to the border with Bradford (just after Otley) will be closed from 5am. However, the A658 Main St in Pool, will stay open until 8am for access to spectator parking, as will Crossgate in Otley
The council's road closures page has links to a series of road closure maps. Map 1 covers the city centre, then maps 2 to 8 are as follows:
- map 2 Sheepscar to Moortown
- map 3 Moortown/Ring Road to Sturdy Beck
- map 4 Sturdy Beck to Harewood
- map 5 Harewood
- map 6 Harewood to Pool
- map 7 Pool to edge of Otley
- map 8 Otley to Bradford border
Any cars left parked on the race route may be towed away. Cyclists attending spectator events are asked to use the cycle parking facilities, rather than keeping their bikes with them, as this will ease congestion.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Bradford
Bradford MDC's Tour de France road closure information uses many of the same phrases as the other areas. The race route roads will be closed for a minimum of eight hours, and there will be road closures and temporary traffic management on other roads leading to the race route. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to use and cross the route prior to the main caravan of the race.
The roads in the Bradford district which are affected on Saturday 5th July are the A660 & A65 Burley, Ilkley, and Addingham, the B6160 and Skipton Road through the village of Addingham, and the A65 from Skipton Road to the district boundary. They will be closed from 5.30am until mid-afternoon.
The roads in Bradford affected on Sunday 6th July are the B6160 Bolton Road to Addingham, and through Addingham village centre to the A65 roundabout; the A6034 to and through Silsden; the A629 to Keighley and through Keighley (North St & South St); the A6033 Haworth road; the B6142 to Haworth, and Haworth Main St and Changegate; from Haworth via Lower Laithe reservoir on Rawdon Road, North Street, West Lane, Main Street, Sun Lane, Main Street, Reservoir Road, Moorside Lane, West Shaw Lane, & Shaw Lane; and out of Oxenhope on the A6033 Hebden Bridge Road to the boundary. They will be closed from 6.30am until mid-afternoon.
Bradford MDC has produced a map showing the Tour race route through the Bradford district, with the Stage 1 route (in blue), Stage 2 route (in red), disabled viewing platforms, campsites, Tour car parks, and stations.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: North Yorkshire
North Yorks CC has published a Tour road closures page on its website, and a list of the roads within the county which will be closed. The council says, 'Wherever feasible, access will be maintained on key routes that cross the closed roads for as long as possible before the race.' However, 'Road closures and various forms of temporary traffic management will also be deployed on other roads in North Yorkshire leading to the race route to facilitate the safe movement of motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to the various spectator points along the race route.'
There is a map of projected Tour road closures in North Yorkshire, showing closures for Stage 1, Stage 2, and non-race roads. NYCC has also produced a Stage 1 map showing expected volume of traffic and ease of access, using a green-amber-red traffic light system. The section of the route in the Yorkshire Dales is red, meaning that access is most difficult there. There's also a Stage 2 map showing volume of traffic and ease of access for the portion in North Yorkshire. The only section that is red on that map is the Côte de Blubberhouses (Kex Gill) climb.
Through traffic is advised to stick to the strategic road network. The general advice is to avoid travelling on the weekend of 5th & 6th July 2014 unless absolutely necessary. The intention is that cyclists will be allowed to ride to a viewing point after the roads have closed, up until the time that the road is handed over to race organisers ASO.
The Yorkshire Post quotes John Weighell, leader of North Yorks CC as follows, 'This is a huge logistical challenge. It will not be confined to the two days of the weekend. We anticipate that the build-up - and some disruption on the roads - will occur throughout the preceding week.' The article says that the road closures have been agreed after discussions involving the emergency services, the NHS, the Highways Agency, the local authorities, ASO, and TDF Hub Ltd.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Harrogate town centre
Roads into Harrogate town centre will be closed from 4am until 10pm on Saturday 5th July 2014 (see a map showing the extent of the Harrogate Tour road closures), with traffic being directed to parking at the Great Yorkshire Showground, or to car parks in private fields near Killinghall. See all the arrangements for Harrogate town centre during the Tour de France.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: York
Roads on the Tour route in York will be closed from 4am to 1.30pm (approximately) on Sunday 6th July. The race route has to be clear of parked vehicles from 7pm on Saturday 5th July. For more information, and links to York City Council's Tour de France traffic and travel page, see our Tour de France in York road closures section.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Calderdale
Calderdale is the section of the route from the top of Cock Hill (Côte d' Oxenhope Moor, where Stage 2 leaves Bradford district), including Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale, Ripponden, and Greetland. Just after the Ainley Top junction, the Tour leaves Calderdale, and enters Kirklees.
Calderdale council has published a news article on road closures in Calderdale for the Tour de France. They say that the race route will be closed from the early hours of Sunday 6th July 2014 until late afternoon. Visit Calderdale has a list of roads linked to the race route which will be closed.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Kirklees
Kirklees Council is responsible for the section of the route from the Ainley Top junction through Huddersfield and Holmfirth, to the summit of Holme Moss, where it crosses into Derbyshire.
Kirklees Council has information on road closures for the Tour. They say that the route and some surrounding roads will be closed to traffic by 7.30am on Sunday 6th July 2014. 'If you are planning to go anywhere by car, please set off early and plan to arrive well before the closures are in place. We do expect severe congestion and advise that you leave plenty of time for your journey, and only travel in the affected areas if you have to.'
There's a list of road closures in Kirklees.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Derbyshire
The Tour route crosses into Derbyshire at the summit of Holme Moss, and stays in the county for a short stretch past Woodhead Reservoir, until it crosses into Barnsley. Derbyshire County Council has a Tour de France page, and the sidebar links 'Information for Communities' and 'Information for Spectators' give details of the road closures.
One of the options forseen in spectator information is walking or cycling from Glossop, about 5 miles from the route.
(HedgehogCycling does realise that Derbyshire is not in Yorkshire, but for convenience, all of Stages 1 and 2 are included here!)
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Barnsley
There's just a short section of the Tour route in Barnsley, on the A628 from Salter's Brook Bridge, the A616 through Langsett, then leaving Barnsley Borough at Midhopestones.
The road closure information is on Visit Barnsley's 'Getting around on Race Day' page.
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014 in Yorkshire: Sheffield
Welcome to Sheffield says that roads will be closed for ten to twelve hours, from 7.30am to 7.30pm. The Attercliffe area, near the finish line, particularly around the Motorpoint Arena, is likely to have closed roads for 36 hours. There are a few more details on their FAQ page.
Sheffield City Council has produced a spreadsheet list of road closures. They have also produced four maps: map 1 (which covers the full Tour route within the Sheffield area), and map 2, map 3, and map 4 (which cover different sections of the route in more detail).
Road closures for the Tour de France 2014: Stage 3
See our separate Stage 3 road closures section.