YNY Mayor to Appoint an Active Travel Commissioner
Mayor of York & North Yorkshire David Skaith has set out his Vision and Priorities for the region, six months after taking office. As part of his mission, he intends to appoint an Active Travel Commissioner.
He wants to develop healthy and thriving communities, which includes the following elements:
- a healthy and resilient region
- a region that’s connected to opportunity
- warm and affordable homes
- a region where people are connected to the outdoors
- safe places for all in York and North Yorkshire
Sustainable Transport
Sustainable transport falls under the ‘connected to opportunity’ element. The detailed explanation on the Combined Authority website is:
‘David Skaith plans to create an affordable, reliable and sustainable transport system that works for York and North Yorkshire, one that puts passengers first and reduces dependency on the car’.
The Mayoral Mission and Priorities statement adds:
‘Improving our transport system is fundamental to ensuring people are connected to work, leisure, family, and important appointments.
The current system is not working for people. In our urban areas buses are trapped in congested streets and in rural areas residents are stranded by irregular services.
I’ll create a transport system that works for York and North Yorkshire, one that puts passengers first and reduces dependency on the car’.
Active Travel Commissioner
The Mission and Priorities statement includes a commitment to appoint a York & North Yorkshire Active Travel Commissioner. The Combined Authority says:
‘The Mayor will deliver progress on active travel schemes across our region, appointing an Active Travel Commissioner to champion walking, cycling and wheeling’.
This comes after the Mayor met England’s Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman, as reported in his 6th September 2024 update.
Sports and the Outdoors
The ‘connected to the outdoors’ element is described as follows:
‘Keeping active and spending time outdoors improves physical and mental health. With this in mind, David Skaith wants to make open spaces safe, affordable and accessible to everyone.
He’ll champion our landscapes and look to increase engagement in the outdoors from our urban schools and environments.
He’s also working to assemble sporting bodies and teams to broaden access to sport’.
This element could and should include cycling.
Police Priorities
The Deputy Mayor Jo Coles is responsible for the police and fire services in North Yorkshire.
A consultation on priorities runs until 10am on 18th November 2024. There’s an opportunity to complete the survey and, for example, request greater policing of dangerous driving on the streets of North Yorkshire towns.
Community Hubs
The Mayor has made a contribution of £760,000 to the North Yorkshire Community Buildings Programme.
This is to renovate village halls or sports facilities and put on more activities and events.