There have been changes to the times of resurfacing works on Bishopthorpe Road that will require road closures this June.
Due to the poor condition of the underlying carriageway, we will be closing Bishopthorpe Road to vehicle traffic on Thursday 6 June and Friday 7 June (6.30pm-Midnight). This will be instead of the closures originally planned on the 16-19 June.
We apologise for any inconvenience this unexpected change to the scheduled roadworks may cause; residents have been informed.
Pedestrian and cyclist routes will be maintained, where possible, to allow access to properties and homes safely.
Roadworks on Elvington Lane (B1228) continue as planned until Tuesday 11 June (7pm-6am), weather permitting.
All works are being carried out by ‘Lane Rental Services Ltd’, working on behalf of the Council.
Delays are expected, so please plan ahead when making any journeys in the area during the works. Emergency services will always be permitted access during the closures.
Bus diversions are expected on after 6.30pm. These will include the York-bound Number 11 service via Knavesmire Road and the Number 26 service via Balmoral Terr.
To find out more, you can sign up for email alerts for roadworks and disruption in your area via www.york.gov.uk/roadworks.
Previously 31st May 2024
City of York Council will be carrying out resurfacing works on Bishopthorpe Road and Elvington Lane (B1228) requiring road closures this June.
Works will start on Bishopthorpe Road on the evening of Friday 31 May and be complete by Wednesday 19 June 2024, weather permitting.
Bishopthorpe road will be closed to vehicle traffic:
6.30pm on Friday 31 May to 2.00am on Saturday 1 June 2024
8.00am to 6.00pm on Sunday 2 June 2024
8.00am to 6.00pm on Sunday 16 June 2024
6.30pm on Monday 17 June to 2.00am on Wednesday 19 June 2024
Pedestrian and cyclist routes will be maintained, where possible, to allow access to properties and homes safely.
Roadworks on Elvington Lane (B1228) will begin on Monday 3 June, and be complete by Tuesday 11 June 2024, weather permitting. These works will require the road to be closed between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am on weekdays. Weekend work is not expected to be necessary.
A Planng Inspector has overruled a York Council refusal of permission to develop a car park which is located opposite the former Terrys Chocolate Works on Bishopthorpe Road.. .
The site had been subject to a planning wrangle for over a decade.
More extra care beds are urgently needed in York with delays to the Councils own scheme at Lowfields being strongly critiised over recent months
The Councils refusal on 7th July 2023 quoted the developments impact on the street scheme and access difficulties among its concerns.
Earlier 17th April 2023
Retirement development plans for Bishopthorpe Road site published
McCarthy and Stone have submitted a planning application which would see 72 apartments constructed on the old chocolate works car park site.
A similar proposal was turned down on appeal. The Inspector viewed the design as “alien” to the area.
The applicants claim that the new design is more in keeping with the nearby streetscape.
The current proposal retans a 92 space two-storey car park. The existing site is used as a car park with a similar capacity.
Comprensive details of the proposals can be read byclicking here
City of York Council will be carrying out emergency works on Bishopthorpe Road, from Monday 17 October.
This follows a ‘dip’ (depression) appearing on Bishopthorpe Road, which has been identified near to the traffic lighted pedestrian crossing, near Thomas the Baker.
The council appreciates this may look alarming for anyone who lives or works in the area and has written to nearby residents and businesses to update them on the situation.
From Monday 17 October, the council will be closing the section of the road between Vine Street and Ebor Street, to investigate the dip and determine what remedial works need to be carried out.
This will require the council to excavate, repair and reinstate the tarmac on the road.
At this early stage the authority believes that the cause of the dip is an old Tramway under the road which is settling.
Until the more detailed investigations have taken place, the authority will not be able to identify the exact timescales of repair, but it’s hoped it will take around 2 weeks.
The council’s immediate priority throughout these works is to ensure the safety of residents, particularly as the depression is on a busy section of the highway.
The council would like to reassure residents that whilst the works are taking place, there will be high steel fencing enclosing the site.
Due to the substantial construction of the highway in this area, it is unlikely the depression will dip further prior to the planned excavation works and is being monitored for any changes.
The York Council has revealed a whole raft of decisions taken on Wednesday at “behind closed doors” meetings. Although the Council could have chosen to publish the agendas and supporting papers (such as they are) before the meeting took place, it chose not to.
Even those sympathetic to the current administration are now losing confidence in the leadership and its aversion to transparency.
This is likely to weigh against the status quo when the future of the unitary authority is considered during the next few months.
The Business and Planning Act 2020 came into force w/c 20th July and has immediate operational impacts associated to the Covid 19 emergency requiring officers to take actions on behalf of the Council in order to comply with new legal obligations. This therefore requires officers to have appropriate delegations to implement this new legislation.
NB. This legislation provides for
A new “Pavement Licence” regime, to be administered by local authorities, designed to make it easier for premises in England serving food and drink such as bars, restaurants and pubs to seat and serve customers outdoors through temporary changes to planning procedures and alcohol licensing.
Alcohol licensing changes that will allow operators with existing alcohol on-sales licences to also serve alcohol for consumption off the premises and to make deliveries.
So with the Alcohol Restriction Zone/PSPOs policy still up in the air, we seem likely to have nameless officials nodding though even more alcohol consumption on the streets of central York.
The fee for an annual café licence has been set at £100/application, with the option to apply for a shorter, 3 month licence, for a £25 fee “to enable shorter term trials by business who have previously not operated licences and who need to accommodate Covid distancing measures to re open”
To approve a Temporary TRO to change existing access restrictions on Castlegate, implementing the following: a. No vehicular access between 10:30 and 20:00 seven days a week (no exemptions for cyclists or Blue Badge holders, extended hours in line with extended footstreet hours) – between number 12 and number 28 Castlegate; b. Loading ban between 10:30 and 20:00 for the whole length of Castlegate; and c. Enable two way traffic between number 28 Castlegate and the junction with Tower Street 24h/day.
This was the decision publicised on Wednesday. Turns out that the meeting did not receive any statistical analysis or impact assessment. The background is restricted to 13 lines of hand wringing.
Having reviewed the current impacts of the TTRO on Bishopthorpe Road, it is evident as the economy reopens there is increased traffic in the area, in particular there is a negative impact on queue lengths on the inner ring road and the level of traffic on adjacent residential streets e.g. St Benedict’s Road. There will also be additional traffic diversions operating in the area when the Micklegate Bar is closed on 10th August due to gasworks which have already commenced on 24 July. Having considered the latest public health advice and traffic impacts, I confirm the decision to not extend TTRO. This location will be kept under review in light of prevailing Covid 19 advice and further considerations of sustainable traffic interventions at this location will be considered as part of the Local Transport plan development. The feedback collected on the scheme will be reviewed and presented in a future decision session.
The York Council has issued a media release indicating that the controversial Bishopthorpe Road lane closure will end on 4th August.
However no formal notification of any meeting being held, to endorse the change, has appeared on the Councils register of decisions.
No notice of any decision meeting was published by the Council.
The original decision to close one lane appeared to be based on a whim. It sprang from a request by a Micklegate ward Labour Councillor (Kilbane) but was quickly adopted by the Councils transport executive Councillor (Andy D’Agorne). There was no public consultation before implementation.
The reversal of the decision fails to acknowledge the harm and resentment felt by significant sections of the community about the ill judged scheme.
The scheme has been compared to the closure of Lendal Bridge where a intransigent Council persisted with a failed experiment for nearly two years before admitting defeat. It put the cause of traffic reduction back by 10 years. We hope that the iconic “Bishy Road” shopping area doesn’t suffer a similar setback.
The main criticisms of the scheme were that, contrary to claims, it did little to assist with social distancing. Indeed in places, bollards actually increased pedestrian congestion.
Cyclists were put at risk when using the contraflow cycle lane while those living in the St Benedict Road area had to cope with increased short cutting and consequent higher pollution levels.
St Benedict’s road suffered from short cutting
Against expectations, in June the scheme was extendedfor another 2 months
Even many who acknowledged that traffic reduction was desirable, pointed out that an (off peak) foot street option might have won greater public support.
We said, right from the beginning, that diverting traffic onto Nunnery Lane and Blossom Street, when the latter was partly closed for utility works, was completely half baked.
So it proved.
It seems that gas works will return on the Blossom Street area shortly.
That, coupled with other road closures in the city, really would have caused traffic chaos at a time when the economy is slowly getting back onto its feet.
The Councils change of heart is welcome, albeit belated. We next hope to see changes to remove some of the unnecessary restrictions on space use in the Marygate car park and on the Monk Bar car park.
Marygate car park spaces closed offUnused disabled spaces in Monk Bar car park
Face masks will have to be worn in shops from today. It remains to be seen how effective this government policy will be.
What is now clear is that some of the impulsive decisions taken a couple of months ago, at the peak of the pandemic by the York Council, have not met the test of time.
Tinkering with traffic systems without proper consultation or impact assessments was always a recipe for failure.
Crucially no attempt was made to define how success would be measured.
So how have they fared?
Bishopthore Road lane closure
This was intended to provide queuing space for shoppers. It was claimed that it would make social distancing easier.
Critics pointed to new hazards for cyclists on the contraflow lane, increased congestion & pollution on alternative routes and a missed opportunity to trial an off peak pedestrian area (10:30am – 4:00pm) approach.
The results have been disappointing with the alternative Nunnery Lane/Blossom Street/ Scarcroft Road suffering for increased congestion. Bus services have been adversely affected. There has been short cutting through residential areas like St Benedict Road where parking is also now a problem
There is little footpath queuing on the east of the shopping area. The forecourted shops on the other side have adequate space although bollards have reduced flexibility.
Verdict – scrap it
An ill considered scheme which missed the opportunity that part time pedestrianisation might have offered.
Fortunately there have been no accidents involving cyclists yet, although northbound traffic levels remain below average (as they do across the whole of the highway network)
Reduced social distancing requirements (now one metre rather than two) and the introduction of face masks should lead to this trial being abandoned. A more thorough consultation on the options for the Bishopthorpe Road area could then take place.
Bollards have not improved social distancing on Bishopthorpe RoadProblems with car parking and short cutting through the St Benedict’s Road area
Foss Bridge
One of the general traffic lanes across Foss Bridge on the inner ring road was repurposed for cyclists (southbound) . The lane had been coned off while maintenance work on the bridge was carried out in the early spring.
Most cyclists opt to use the riverside off road path. Comparatively few choose to use the inner ring road.
Verdict – retain and consult on its future
There has been little congestion on this section of the inner ring road although general travel patterns are not expected to return to pre COVID levels before September.
The cycle lane has been obstructed on occasions by delivery drivers, taxi pick ups etc. so the solution is less than perfect.
Vehicle numbers on this section of the inner ring road greatly exceed the number of cyclists
Monk Bar car park disabled spaces
The Council allocated 40 spaces at the Monk Bar car park for blue badge holders when additional access & parking restrictions were introduced in the City centre (e.g. Goodramgate). A “free” taxi service link to the rear of Kings Square is offered. The decision – like several others – was taken by the Councils acting chief executive with no prior consultation.
Blue badge holders can park on single yellow lines and park free of charge at Council car parks.
The little used taxi service is costing taxpayers £354 a day.
It appears that no attempt was made to assess the demand for disabled parking spaces at Monk Bar or for the taxi link. The Council didn’t specify the use of low emission vehicles on the taxi contract
Typically no more than five blue badge holders are parking at Monk Bar at any one time. The remaining general parking spaces are being increasingly used but the car park has yet to reach the full occupation levels seen before the pandemic. The Council has also recently allocated more on street parking spaces for blue badge holders in streets like Duncombe Place.
While the initiative was well intentioned, the Council hopelessly misjudged the demand for the service.
Verdict – revise the scheme
The number of reserved spaces can be reduced and the taxi link abandoned. Consultations can take place with disabled group representatives and traders on other options. These might include a “home to city centre” subsidised taxi service for the disabled where costs are recompensed when goods are bought.
Monk Bar blue badge spaces unusedNarrow access path at Monk Bar car park. No provision made for social distancing (see Maygate below)
Marygate car park
Around 40 parking spaces have been cordoned off. The Council claimed it was to allow cyclists to avoid joint use of the footpath (which links Scarborough Bridge to Bootham Terrace). In turn this helped to maintain a two metre social distancing zone.
The scheme was criticised when proposed because if failed to assess the effectiveness of the obvious alternative (encouraging cyclists to use the internal car park service road) which would have involved the loss of only one parking space.
There were bigger problems on other routes from Scarborough Bridge both at the north (Marygate) end of the bridge and crucially at the station itself. A narrow tunnel connects the shared cycle/footpath to Bootham Terrace.
The introduction of one metre social distancing guidelines and the use of face masks will reduce any health threat.
Observations at the car park suggest that the cycle route through the parking spaces is very little used (with some cyclists opting to use the service road anyway).
The car park has been busy on occasions but has not yet reached capacity. This may change if August is as busy as it has been in the past
Verdict – amend the scheme to allow cyclists to use the car park service road.
There is no Coronavirus heath justification for routing cyclists through car parking spaces. The break in the perimeter fence can be retained – and one place bollarded off – to allow access via the service road to Bootham Tce and Almery Garth. A ramp to St Mary’s – promised but never delivered – would be a useful for both cyclists and disabled buggy users.
The Council should sort out an acceptable route for cyclists wishing to access the route from Scarborough bridge to Lowther Tce (long term plans for the station frontage remodelling need to recognise this demand)
Conned off section on Marygate car park is little used by cyclistsNo cycling when you reach the station
Local shopping streets like Foxwood Lane/Beagle Ridge Drive mostly continued trading through the lock-down. All but the hairdressers are open. No problems with parking today and a few shoppers around at lunchtime
Coop on Beagle Ride Drive has been popular throughout the lock-down period
Secondary shopping area
Acomb is York’s second largest shopping area. Its focal store (Morrisons) has remained open throughout the pandemic and has undertaken an increased number of home deliveries
Acomb Car park about 505 full at lunchtime todayMost shops in Acomb have reopened. Exceptions are hairdressers, a charity outlet and cafes (although outside/takeaway service available. A “nail bar” will open ins an empty unit shortly
Specialist shopping streets
Bishopthorpe Road has established a reputation for itself as a bijou shopping destination with good quality independents predominating. It became mired in controversy a few weeks ago when local Councillors campaigned successfully for the road to be closed to southbound vehicles. It is unclear how this has affected trade but the area was generally quiet today at lunchtime. Road works start on nearby Nunnery Lane this evening. Most shops are open. There was limited space in the dedicated car park
The contraflow cycle “lane” is controversial. The existing northbound cycle lane has been abandoned. The bollards were placed on the road to encourage social distancing.Road works starting this evening
We’ll take a separate look at how the first day of the city centre shopping arrangements have gone.
York News Focus 