Welcome to Dobbies York – Except if you Came by Bike

Welcome to Dobbies York – except if you came by bike. That seems to be the message at the Poppleton garden centre.

They have a very big car park, but as far as I can see they have made no provision for cycle parking. People still travel by bike, but they have to improvise, and lock their bikes to whatever they can find.

Dobbies isn’t the only retail outlet on the edge of York that is designed exclusively around the car. For example, there’s Clifton Moor, and there’s the Designer Outlet just off the A64 on the southern edge of York. When they were built, it may have seemed as though the car was the future.

Cutting Emissions from Transport

Now York is developing a Local Transport Strategy to cut emissions from transport by 71% by 2030. This includes a 3% reduction in trips, and a 25% reduction in miles travelled. It is fair to assume that trips to shops on the Outer Ring Road represent longer distances, and must be a key part of the 25% target.

It is therefore in the interests of businesses like Dobbies to welcome people on two wheels, because they will be an increasing proportion of customers from now on. As well as covered cycle parking, they should put in place a separate cycle entrance.

City of York Council will also have to improve the quality of the cycle infrastructure linking to Poppleton.

There are people who understand the scale of the challenge and the urgency of decarbonising transport, but not enough of them! As well as embarking on their own Herculean task, councils must spread the word to local people and businesses – including Dobbies.