Beech Grove to Get Traffic Calming
Beech Grove Harrogate is to get traffic-calming measures. That’s a change from the position in December 2023, when no traffic calming was proposed.
The information comes from an Active Travel Update report by North Yorkshire Council, which is in the reports pack for a Harrogate & Knaresborough Area Committee meeting on 12th September 2024.
NPIF and 20mph
The background is that the council abandoned its flagship plan for an Otley Road Cycleway, which was funded by the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF).
North Yorkshire is now getting rid of the NPIF funding it no longer wants by spending it on ten small schemes. They include making a few roads 20mph, tinkering with bus shelters, and tweaking traffic lights to get more motor vehicles through faster.
In relation to 20mph, para 8.4 of the update report says:
‘Cold Bath Road 20mph – speed surveys are now complete, and discussions have been had with North Yorkshire Police.
Traffic calming is required only on Cold Bath Road (between Otley Road and Queens Road) and Beech Grove. Remaining streets within the proposed 20mph zone already have low vehicle speeds and so a 20mph can be implemented with signage only.
Consultation on the proposals/Traffic Regulation Orders is anticipated to be during September-October 2024. The TRO process timescales depends on whether objections are received’.
While the speed survey data have not been published, presumably it shows that mean speeds on Beech Grove are above 24mph – the cut-off point at which traffic calming is needed.
Slippage of the Timetable
The timetable has slipped since the previous council update in December 2023. At that time, North Yorkshire Highways claimed that they were going to start the TRO process in May 2024, and resurfacing and traffic calming work was to get underway in late Summer.
Now apparently the TRO process is to begin this month, and as for work on the ground that’s anyone’s guess. The TROs have not yet been published.
Other NPIF Projects
The council claims it will launch TRO consultations in September/October 2024 on proposed crossing improvements:
- on Cold Bath Road outside Western Primary and
- on Green Lane near Ashville College
It is likely that both will be non-crossings, i.e. a bit of tactile paving to indicate a suggested crossing point, but with priority to motor vehicles.
The council has already done a bit of patching of the Rossett cycle path.
Oatlands Drive and Wetherby Road Crossings
Crossings of Wetherby Road and Oatlands Drive were to be finished by the end of March 2024, but work has not started.
The update report says that ‘officers are able to commence the land dedication legal process with the Duchy of Lancaster’, as Stray land changes are needed. ‘Detailed design and TROs are now being progressed’.
Harland Way
The update report says that the council has money inherited from Harrogate Borough Council to improve the Harland Way. HBC was abolished in May 2022, so there has already been more than 2 years of delay.
North Yorkshire intends to retain an unbound stone surface, but to profile it to improve drainage. That’s pretty pathetic. An unsealed surface will deteriorate quickly, returning to puddles and mud.
The council acknowledges that it ought to widen the path to 3m, but says the budget it has is not enough so it will only tackle pinch points.
Victoria Avenue
Despite the tepid response to its pedestrian-only scheme, with only six people supporting it, North Yorkshire is pushing on with it.
It says consultants will have finished designs by October 2024, and ‘it is intended to commence works before the end of the financial year’.
That would mean work starting before the end of March 2025. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Bilton Lane Crossing and Killinghall Buildout
These two small improvements to the Nidderdale Greenway should have been delivered long ago, but are still stalled.
A Bilton Lane crossing is held up because a Road Safety Audit has been done but ‘due to staffing issues there have been delays in issuing the report’.
The Killinghall buildout is also delayed due ‘resource pressures’. The council claims TROs will be done in ‘October to November’, but who knows when they will actually be published.
Bilton to Hornbeam Park and the A59 Missing Link
Designs of these two schemes were funded by the Area Committee.
The update report says of Bilton to Hornbeam Park:
‘Officers and consultants are currently undertaking a scoping exercise to de-risk the scheme prior to investing £150k on developing this to bid-ready status’.
The design work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
For the A59 missing link (High Bridge to the start of the existing cycle path), the update report says:
‘Design works are currently ongoing to develop bid-ready status in anticipation of future funding pots announcement.
While design work is likely to take one month, a finish date will be guided by the completion of topographical survey which needs to be completed before design works can progress’.
Another report says that the preliminary design will be finished by the end of October.
Cycle Network Prioritisation
Key stakeholder engagement on cycle network prioritisation is under way and expected to be complete by the end of September.