York Cycle Infrastructure - Grimston Bar to the Minster, Part 1

28th January 2022

This is Part 1 of a review of the cycle infastructure between Grimston Bar Park & Ride and York Minster/the city centre. It covers the route from Grimston Bar up to and including the Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track.

TL;DR

There is cycle infrastructure all the way from Grimston Bar to Foss Islands, but much of it is dated and not up to modern Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20 standards.

This is a summary of the detail below.

1) The Toucan crossings of the A1079 and Osbaldwick Link Road should separate cyclists from pedestrians, and provide a single-stage crossing for people on bikes.

2) The shared/white line segregation provision on Osbaldwick Link Road should be replaced with a separate, two-way cycle track.

3) Traffic calming could be added in Osbaldwick, and Metcalfe Lane resurfaced.

4) The Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track needs resurfacing in places. Ideally, it would be widened, and separate walking and cycling areas indicated with different levels or a raised strip.

Grimston Bar

There's a shared use path out of Grimston Bar Park & Ride, that leaves from the staff parking area. If you follow it, it brings you to the A1079 Hull Road dual carriageway.

Anyone heading west towards the city centre is offered a painted, advisory cycle lane, less than 1m wide, alongside a hostile dual carriageway. After a short distance, you would have to ride alongside a high-speed slip road into the P&R.

There is no way I would ride that.

It's back to the Park & Ride, and ride the road towards the exit. You pick up a shared use path from York Sport Village at York University's East Campus.

It should really separate cyclists and pedestrians.

Turn right on the path, and it comes to an end at the A1079. I speak a little bit of the language of cycle infrastructure, but I'm not sure what white lines + special paving + mud/mulch means.

Anyway, joining the A1079 is not going to be an option for most people. Instead, there's a Toucan crossing - in four separate stages.

Four stages is too many and breaches the Core Design Principle that cycle routes should be Direct.

There is guard railing at the refuges, which para. 10.4.19 of LTN 1/20 advises against. Also, para. 10.4.20 advises there should be a separate single stage crossing for cyclists.

'Where it is necessary to stagger pedestrian crossing facilities, a separate single stage crossing for cyclists should be provided (see Figure 10.9) or alternatively an angled crossing on a wider central refuge (see Figure 10.10).'

There's a shared use path on the north side of the A1079. In the short term it should be swept, and in the medium term it should be made wider (taking space from the carriageway) and segregated.

The path brings you to the junction of the A1079 and Osbaldwick Link Road.

Osbaldwick Link Road

A Toucan crossing here is in three stages. The same comments apply to this multi-stage crossing as to the crossing of the A1079.

At the other side of the Toucan, you join the cycle facility on Osbaldwick Link Road.

Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20 says white line segregation should not be used (although personally I much prefer it to fully shared paths).

In urban areas, a shared use footway is a last resort (para. 6.5.4). Instead, there could be a two-way cycle track here, taking space from the carriageway to meet width requirements in the guidance.

It should have priority over the three entrances at/near B&Q.

Osbaldwick

You're on-road through the village of Osbaldwick, which is fine. It's 20mph, but would ideally have traffic-calming measures to ensure that the speed limit is respected.

The cycle route continues on Metcalfe Lane, which is traffic-free (or nearly). In an ideal world, it would be resurfaced.

Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Track

Turn left onto the Derwent Valley & Foss Islands Cycle Track.

It's basically good provision. The surface has deteriorated at the east end of the track, and it could do with being resurfaced there.

Ideally, the path would be widened and walking and cycling areas would be designated - with a level difference or raised trapezoidal strip (paras. 8.2.4 & 5, LTN 1/20).

I'll pick up the rest of the route in Part 2.