To Do Nothing Is Not Feasible – A660 Cycle Route, Leeds
‘To do nothing is not feasible, as the existing issues of road safety, lack of connectivity and congestion would not be addressed’.
Those were the words of Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Infrastructure and Climate at Leeds City Council, in response to objections to active travel plans for the A660 Otley Road/Headingley Lane/Woodhouse Lane in north Leeds.
One of the Busiest Cycle Routes in Leeds
The A660 is one of the busiest cycle routes in Leeds, according to the City Council.
It carries 1,000 cyclist a day, but there were 172 casualties between 2016 and 2021.
Location, Funding and Design
The latest planned works are on the A660 between Shaw Lane and St Mark’s Road (University of Leeds). They are funded with £10.4 million from Active Travel England.
They follow on from works currently under way on the A660, from Shaw Lane north to the Lawnswood roundabout.
The new scheme includes:
- 20mph through Headingley
- safety improvements at junctions including Hyde Park Corner
- continuous crossings of side streets for people on foot and on bikes
- 2m cycle tracks either side of the A660
- wider footways
- closure of St Michael’s Road and Regent Park Avenue to through traffic
Objections and the Council Response
There have been objections, including from the Friends of Woodhouse Moor. They say that enabling active travel on the A660 will increase congestion and pollution.
That is an odd argument, because the status quo is congestion and pollution caused by too many motor vehicles. Motor vehicles make cycling unsafe, and put people off getting around sustainably.
Making better provision for active travel and buses is the only way of reducing congestion and pollution.
The objectors appear to be confused – they are conflating the problem and the solution.
If you follow their arguments to their logical conclusion, you would give all the space to motor vehicles, and ensure that the alternatives are too hostile for most people. That would…what? Solve the problem? Of course not.
It hasn’t worked for the last seven decades or so, and it’s unlikely to work now.
And if you look at countries which have successfully enabled mass cycling, they have done it by allocating space to cycling, not refusing to do so.
The Woodhouse Moor people also object to a section of shared use that will be created.
Leeds City Council has responded to the objections.
‘The council is committed to making Leeds carbon neutral by 2030. By providing new sustainable infrastructure to help residents reduce their own carbon footprint, the proposals aim to provide a viable alternative to the car, and as people choose sustainable travel pollution should decrease.
leeds city council
In the consultation on the scheme, there was 63% support.
The latest works are set to start in the Summer.
Lessons North Yorkshire Could Learn
Leeds City Council:
- has won funding for an ambitious scheme on a major road
- is prepared to stand up to vocal objectors, and put forward its case
- is getting on with the works promptly
By contrast, on its Otley Road cycle scheme North Yorkshire Council:
- adopted a poor design
- in 5 years, built only one short (300m) section of cycle path
- caved in to objectors at the end of the 5 years, and announced that it was no longer going to build the rest of the cycle path
North Yorkshire’s approach is an object lesson in how not to run an active travel project. They could learn a lot from Leeds.