York Cycle Infrastructure - Grimston Bar to the Minster, Part 2

30th January 2022

This is Part 2 of a review of the cycle infastructure between Grimston Bar Park & Ride and York Minster/the city centre. It covers the route from the Foss Islands end of the Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track to the Minster.

Part 1 looked at Grimston Bar to Foss Islands.

TL;DR

There is cycle infrastructure from the western end of the Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track to the Minster, but improvements could be made to bring it up to Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20 standards.

This is a summary of the detail below.

1) The Toucan crossings of James Street and Foss Islands Road should separate cyclists from pedestrians, and provide a single-stage crossing for people on bikes.

2) Ideally there would be separate provision for pedestrians and cyclists through Foss Islands Retail Park.

3) The cycle provision alongside Foss Islands Road is odd, narrow, and lacks physical protection. A proper-width, physically-protected cycle track should be built here, taking space from the carriageway. The cycle track should have priority over side roads and driveways.

4) The filtered permeability streets from Hungate Bridge to the Minster (Palmer Street, Aldwark) work well.

James Street & Foss Islands Retail Park

At the western end of the Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track, you come to a Toucan crossing of James Street.

The issues are the same as those discussed in Part 1 in relation to the A1079 and Osbaldwick Link Road:

• there should be a single stage crossing for people on bikes
• cyclists should not be corralled into small shared spaces with guard railing

The relevant guidance is in paras. 10.4.19 & 20 of LTN 1/20.

The other side of James Street, you're into Foss Islands Retail Park - probably privately-owned land. There's a zebra-style crossing of a side road.

It would be better if it was a parallel crossing. Similarly, the path would be better if it were segregated into separate cycling and walking areas.

Foss Islands Road

Next there's a Toucan crossing of Foss Islands Road.

As before, there should be a single-stage cycle crossing without guard railing.

The short stretch alongside Foss Islands Road is odd.

It took me a while to work out what was going on here (cycle infrastructure that is not easily legible).

There's two-way cycle 'provision', but you're asked to cycle on the right, not the left. That's so that the on-road painted lane can be for cyclists going the same way as the traffic, and the pavement lane is contraflow.

The changes needed here are:

• a two-way kerb-protected cycle track. It's a very busy road, and paint is not protection
• the cycle track should meet the minimum width of 3m in Table 5-2 of LTN 1/20
• take the extra width needed from the carriageway, not from pedestrians (para 6.1.9)
• give the cycle track and ideally the footway priority over the side roads/driveways (para 10.5.7)

Navigation Road

It's interesting to see what City of York has done on Navigation Road.

Drivers used it to cut the corner from Walmgate to Foss Islands Road. To stop that, a short section of it has been made one way with cycle lanes and light segregation either side.

It is described as a Low Traffic Neighbourhood, but it isn't a typical LTN with a modal filter; through traffic is still permitted in one direction.

You don't go as far along Navigation Road as the cycle lanes pictured above. Instead, turn right over Hungate Bridge (main photo at the top of the page).

Palmer Street

The other side of the bridge is Palmer Street, which is filtered permeability with retractable bollards.

The route continues with a similar filtered street leading to Peasholme Green.

These streets work well.

Aldwark

Aldwark is great because there's a modal filter at the junction with St Andrewgate.

Aldwark leads to Goodramgate. Turn left on Goodramgate and fork right on Deangate to reach Minster Yard.

Do you ride any parts of this route?