What North Yorkshire Told Active Travel England vs the Reality
North Yorkshire Council (NYC) has a habit of making big claims when it is required to show that it is committed to active travel, but then disappointing by failing to deliver in practice.
What North Yorkshire Told Active Travel England
In a self-assessment submitted to Active Travel England, North Yorkshire highlighted its plans for a 20mph zone with traffic calming on streets including Pannal Ash Road and Green Lane.
NYC claimed in the self-assessment that it merited an increase in its overall active travel capability rating from Level 1 to Level 2, partly on the basis of the 20mph zone.
It said:
‘Within Local Leadership Harrogate & Knaresborough NYC members have this year supported the introduction of an extensive 20mph zone within Harrogate (our largest town) which is the most significant 20mph zone the council has ever introduced.
20mph limits will be introduced outside seven more schools and on nearby residential streets, meaning thousands of children can enjoy safer journeys each day.
The landmark proposal is testament to the collective determination of schools, families and councillors in response to public concerns and delivers ambitious action.
The positive action by NYC leadership leads the way for other communities across North Yorkshire’.
The Reality
The promise of a large 20mph zone was made in September 2023.
Some streets were to be made 20mph with the remnants of the council’s NPIF money. Others, including Pannal Ash Road, Green Lane and Yew Tree Lane, were to be traffic-calmed and made 20mph from the council’s 2024/25 capital budget.
Letters were sent out consulting residents of Pannal Ash Road and Green Lane about traffic calming and 20mph. There was strong support to go ahead.
Then at the last minute, more letters were sent to residents saying that resurfacing of their roads would go ahead without any traffic calming and without making them 20mph.
The excuse given by NYC was:
‘officers consider that further detailed review of future measures associated with [the West Harrogate urban expansion] and their impact on the current scheme proposals needs to be undertaken’.
Translated, that means that NYC officers do not want to make these roads 20mph because they want to get as much traffic along them as fast as possible to make the traffic modelling for the urban expansion look good.
What about the promises they made to head teachers, parents and Councillors? They couldn’t care less.
What about the wishes of residents of Pannal Ash Road and Green Lane? Not interested.
What about the safety of children going to school? Traffic movement is far more important.
The letters to residents say that officers will come up with new traffic-calming proposals at an unspecified future date, and start all over again consulting on them.
Who believes that? How many different traffic-calming options are there? Either you put it in or you don’t.
It looks like an attempt to kick the whole thing into the very long grass. Once officers have made everyone lose the will to live, they think they can quietly abandon the scheme.
Misleading Active Travel England
There are two faces to every North Yorkshire active travel scheme.
The first is shown to Active Travel England and anyone else NYC is hoping to impress, to prove that this is a council which is coming up with ambitious proposals and doing a brilliant job.
The second is shown to those of us who ask NYC to actually get on and deliver the proposals; then the answer is no, we’re not doing it.
These are schemes that exist in a twilight zone, where they are simultaneously happening if anyone asks about them in theory, and not happening if anyone asks about them in practice.