Further closure of Queen Street bridge in late April?

Update 29th March 2024

Contractor John Sisk & Son has applied for a second closure from 8.00pm on Fri 26th April to 6.00am Mon 29th April 2024. This is in addition to the closure taking place on 19th/22nd (see below)

The second closure would see the start of work to remove Queen Street Bridge. According to the York Council, this is currently under consideration and “further information will be shared if approved”.

York Council visual of completed scheme (includes amenity planting which the authority recently abandoned)

Earlier 26th March 2024

Queen Street to close all users from 19th to 22nd April

To help them plan ahead, the council is forewarning residents and commuters that – as part of work to transform the entrance to York Station –  Queen Street Bridge is set to be closed from 8pm on Friday 19 April 2024 to 6am on Monday 22 April 2024. Work will be carried out by contractor John Sisk & Son to build a temporary road to be used by pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles while this project continues. 

Contractor John Sisk & Son, has also applied for a second closure from 8pm on Friday 26 April to 6am on Monday 29 April which would see the start of work to remove Queen Street Bridge. This is currently under consideration and further information will be shared if approved.

Station Car Park would be closed during these weekends but access for residents and businesses on Queen St will be maintained at all times. Businesses, including York RI, and the station will be open as usual.

Detailed information regarding the works and transport information for the closure will be published soon.

Contractors John Sisk & Son and the council, will host drop-in events where people can find out more.

They will take place on:

1. Tuesday 9 April, 4pm – 6.30pm at York Railway Station
2. Thursday 11 April online, 6.30pm – 7.30pm (email YorkStationGateway@sisk.co.uk to register)
3. Tuesday 16 April 5pm – 8pm at The Principal Hotel, York

Residents and stakeholders in the area have been contacted and will get further information ahead of the works.

The scheme is being delivered by City of York Council, Network Rail, LNER and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority alongside contractor for the highways works for the project, John Sisk & Son.

The ambitious project will completely transform the station frontage, providing an improved transport interchange, as well as revamping the public space around the station. 

The scheme aims to encourage more people to walk, cycle and use public transport to access the station, as well as creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment around the front of the railway station. The scheme will also create an improved setting for the City Walls and other heritage buildings in the area.

For the latest information on the project visit www.york.gov.uk/StationGateway

Only seven roads benefit from raid on York neighbourhood funds

£250,000 was cut from ward committee highways maintenance budgets in the summer. Labour Counclllors claimed that it would be used to “Increase efficiency and prolong the life of roads by increasing the number of structural repairs to our road surfaces”.

A response to a Freedom of Information request has revealed that the £1/4 million has been spent on patching up just seven roads across the City.

It is unclear how the decisions on priorities were made but poorer areas like Westfield have missed out under the new system. .

No funding for urgent repairs

We have advocated switching funds from pothole filling to larger patching works in the past. That required a rebalancing of the internal highways budget.

The ward budget could and should, have been spent on full width resurfacing schemes – providing a long term life for worn out road surfaces, with a marked improvement in safety standards.

NB. There is an estimated £10 million backlog in urgent highway repairs work in York. £350,000, provided to the Coucnil for road repairs by central government in November of last year, has still not been spent

Earlier 1st August 2023

Revised ward budgets approved by York Council at a “behind closed doors” meeting

Major 30% cut to funding

The York Council is dramatically cutting the amount of funding which will be available to spend on nighbourhood problems.

A much-reduced base budget has been made available following an officer decision taken at a private meeting. There has been no consultation with residents’ associations or Parish Councils on the proposals

The Council claims that the allocation process has been tweaked to try to direct resources to the less well off neighbourhoods but, in effect, this makes little difference.

Overall, there will be a 30% cut in funding and that before highways and estate improvement budgets are considered.

2023/24 budget allocations

The most deprived ward (Westfield), which had £40,000 a year to invest until recently, will see that fall to £24,646 a year.

It means there will be little opportunity to tackle crime prevention issues while the community pride programme – which aimed to keep neighbourhoods clean and tidy – has also been jettisoned.

2020/21 ward allocations

The cuts actually run deeper. The locally determined road repairs budget has been cut completely with doubt about whether even schemes which were in the pipeline – and funded from last years budget – will actually happen

Four year local highways repair budget implemented by the last Council. Now abandoned by the new Labour administration

The future of the housing estate improvement programme (HEIP) budgets – funded from Council tenants rents and allocated by local residents – is also in doubt.

The funding has been used in the past to improve local communal areas for the benefit of all tenants

HEIP previous allocations. Now scrapped

While few would argue that previous attempts, to give local residents more say over how their communities are maintained, have been an overwhelming success, cutting budgets and taking decisions behind closed doors in West Offices, represents a return to the worst type of civic paternalism.

It is a major error of judgement by the new Labour controlled Council.

Only 8 Council workers battling to keep York roads safe

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that there are only 8 front line workers undertaking basic maintenance tasks on roads in York. In addition, there are 4 highway inspectors.

The revelation may explain why the authority is struggling to keep over 500 miles of carriageway in a safe condition.

Uneven surfaces are a hazard for cyclists and motorists

Dozens of pothole reports are outstanding according to the Councils own stats. Approximately 9% of York roads are in a serious state of disrepair.

 In total it would cost £190 million to bring Yorks highways to a “perfect condition”. For the last decade Councils, of all political persuasions. have failed to address the growing backlog of work

When it took control of the Council last year, Labour made two significant changes. It reduced the number of gangs working on pothole repairs. It was thought that this would mean that more would be invested in large patching works. That would have been a step in the right direction.

However that hasn’t happened. Workers are having to scuttle around the city using cold bitmac to temporarily fill potholes. The repairs last for only a short time. About 20% of repairs use cold bitumen (which costs more than hot bitmac)

The issue is some parts of the City has been exacerbated by the decision to end funding allocations by ward. This had provided a safety net with local Councillors identifying dangerous sections of road. This money has been siphoned off and used to resurface a road in the east of the City.

Elsewhere standards have dropped dramatically .

Even the ward based prioritised had its flaws. Schemes identified for completion in 2022/23 are only now being completed.

Identified for repair in 2022 but delayed until this year

Another long delayed repair

In November 2023 – as part of the HST cancellation dividend – the government allocated York additional funding – £360,000 this year (and a similar amount for next year) to repair roads.  

Despite the growth in the number of potholes, the Council has not spent the money.

One Councillor is now calling for an emergency programme of repairs – using overtime if necessary – to catch up with the worst of the backlog.

Is the street lighting repair service in York collapsing?

Further Update: We have now had an explanation from the council of the problems that they are facing.Apparently, there has been a 40% increase in street lighting fault reports. They are working (remotely) on the A59 faults

Update 28th Feb 2023. The York Council emailed us yesterday afternoon claiming that the long outstanding fault on the street light opposite Dobbies on the A59 had been repaired. We visited this morning and the fault has not been repaired.

This is the second time that the Council has claimed incorrectly to have fixed this (day burner) fault.

The fault has now been outstanding for five months

If the Council’s new policy is not to repair this type of fault, then they should update the information provided on their website and in the “Report it Online” App.

If not, they should explain why they are writing off fault reports without completing a repair

Council claimed to have repaired A59 street light fault on 27th Feb

Street light still faulty today

For many years, reports of faulty street lights were dealt with promptly by the York Council

The Council’s own figures reveal that the number of faults repaired within the target time (4 days) has fallen over the last decade from over 90% to the current figure of only 26%.

The number of faults reported has also been increasing despite the Council’s huge investment in LED units which were supposed not only to be more efficient, but also more reliable

Council target times for lighting repairs (click)

As the graphs show, repair performance has fallen off a cliff edge since October 2022.

There is even some doubt about the accuracy of the figures as at least one repair, which was reported as completed and signed off in the autumn by Council officials, is still faulty. This is the streetlight opposite Dobbie’s garden centre near Poppleton which has been lit 24/7 for nearly 6 months.

Now three other lights on the A59 & A1237 have developed similar faults.

Long temr “day burner” opposite Dobbies

Two “day burners” on A1237

“Day burner” Station Road/A59

Even a formal complaint to the Council has failed to elicit an explanation. Had complainants been told that the backlog was due to staffing, equipment or supply issues then they might have been more understanding.

But no explanation has been forthcoming. There appear to have been no public reports to responsible Executive Council members on the emerging crisis.

The Council figures reveal that there are around 1033 outstanding lighting faults . Some date back to 2019.

291 faults have been reported in the last 30 days (click for locations)

Now, of course, “day burners” don’t usually represent a safety issue but they are a poor advert for a Council which is working to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The Council spent £1.5 million on street and building lighting energy costs in 2021/22. Against a background of spiralling electricity charges, the bill for the current year is expected to be much higher.

Meanwhile, just along the road, developers seem to be taking a different approach to ensuring the reliability of the street lighting system. The cycle/footpath next to the development on the old Civil Service Sports Ground has pairs of lamposts installed along much of its length.

The path is a big improvement for users who are now able to stay well clear of the traffic on the main carriageway

Cycle/footpath on new Boroughbridge Road development

Marygate improvements to resume today (Wednesday)

Council reminds drivers that Marygate car park will be closed for several days

Work to resurface and reconstruct the road and footpath on Marygate for the first time in a generation will resume this week –  with access to Marygate Car Park affected later this month.

Marygate car park

Since works started in September, significant progress has been made before the works were paused for the festive period.

From Wednesday 4 January drainage and other preparation work in advance of the resurfacing work will resume on Marygate, Hetherton Street, Esplanade Court, Frederic Street and Marygate Lane.

Then from 9 January until mid-February a full road closure will be in place for the resurfacing work. This will include Marygate, Hetherton Street, Esplanade Court, Frederic Street and Marygate Lane on weekdays between 9.30am and 4pm, which will mean access to the car park will be affected.

Due to the full road closure, there will be no access for vehicles and on street parking will be suspended during the working hours. Emergency services will be permitted through the works as needed.

Diversions are in place for cyclists who would normally use Marygate, so they can use the Sustrans Route – Railway walk, which is at the back of Marygate Car Park. There will be signs, traffic management precautions and traffic marshalls in place to assist with this diversion.

This road closure will mean that Marygate car park will be closed to the public on weekdays.

During working hours, vehicles will not be able to be parked on Marygate due to restricted access. Vehicle movements will need to be planned outside working hours.

Residents and businesses will be permitted to park in Marygate car park, free of charge, when the road is closed. The car park will be closed to other visitors during this time.

Disabled parking bays will also be available in Marygate car park during the full road closures.

Residents and businesses in the area have been written to with advice on alternative options whilst on street parking is suspended. This will include the option of using Marygate car park, however due to the road closures access will be restricted during the day.

Residents and visitors to the city are encouraged to plan ahead and use public transport such as the park and ride where possible.

The works have been split into phases to ensure safe pedestrian access to all homes and nearby businesses is maintained throughout the works, with doorways will be predominantly resurfaced outside business hours. 

The works have taken into consideration the historic importance of the area and are working closely with conservation officers, given the close proximity to the city walls.

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Resurfaced lane near Rufforth better for cyclists

The Council have completed repairs on Bradley Lane. The road links Rufforth and Askham Richard and is popular with leisure cyclists.

There is less good news closer to York. The cycle/footpath underpass at the A59/A1237 junction is obstructed by a thorn bush.

Adjacent drainage channels are also overgrown with weeds.

The issues were reprted sevral weeks ago and should by now have been cleared by the Council.

Thorn branches obstructing Poppleton cycle path

No weed treatment on cycle underpass

NYCC highways fail on Tadcaster cycle path

Generally, we have found the North Yorkshire County Councils Highway team more responsive than their York Council counterparts.

Potholes when reported are filled in. Carriageway surfaces are often better.

Unfortunately our confidence has been jarred by the refusal of the County Council to repair the road and cycle path near the Ford garage in Tadcaster.

The cycle path next to the A64 dual carriageway is maintained by Highways Yorkshire while the County Council takes over at the Tadcaster boundary (A659).

The contrast in maintenance standards is marked. The Tadcaster section is potholed, uneven and virtually inaccessible in places. It represents a hazard for two wheeled transport users.

The HY section is much better with the only problems relating to obstructions caused by overgrowth during the summer months.

The deteriorating condition of the cycle path was first reported in 2020. No action was taken, so a formal issue was recorded via the County Councils web site in August 2021.

Action was promised “The reported defect has been inspected and has been added to a programme of works”.

We recently checked to make sure, that 7 months later, repairs had been completed.

The answer was “they hadn’t”.

So we reported the defects again. using the Councils portal. The answer that we got this time was rather different.

Reported on Sunday (20th March) at 12:54pm, by 6:26 am the following morning we were told the “Reported defect had been inspected” but “did not meet the criteria for further action”

So it appears that in the intervening 7 months the carriageway has not only resisted the winter frosts but has also self healed to the point where repairs are no longer needed.

Because of the size of North Yorkshire we can understand that the needs of cyclists have a low profile. This may explain why the Council missed the boat when all authorities were asked by central government to bid for funding for sustainable transport schemes. Tadcaster would have been an ideal candidate.

Sadly the opportunity seems to have been lost and the “jobsworth” approach seems, for now, to have gained the upper hand,

There are elections for the new NYCC authority in May. The new “mega” Council will have many more powers. It will administer more street level services.

Newly elected Councillors will need to refresh the authorities “customer care” policies at an early stage

Knavesmire cycle path widening plan set to be abandoned

Tadcaster Road project to be discussed next week.

Improvements to the shared use cycle path next to the Knavesmire are set to be abandoned.

The results of a consultation into plans to change the highways layout on Tadcaster Road have been published (click). The reaction from residents to the proposals are very mixed – reinforcing the belief that this is a solution in search of a problem.

The Council is ploughing ahead with most of the scheme seemingly because it will be funded, to the tune of £1.43million, from the governments “Transforming Cities Fund”.  The aim of the scheme is to increase the numbers walking, cycling, and using public transport on the corridor.

As is usual these days with eh York Council the volume and modal split of existing uses has not been published. This will make it difficult to assess whether any scheme is successful

Many people – including cyclists – feel that, since the road was resurfaced and fresh white lines painted, it is already one of the best cycling routes in the City. Footpaths are also among the widest.

One major change proposed is that the planned widening of the off-road cycle path next to the Knavesmire – between St Georges Place and Ainsty Grove – is being abandoned. Although a popular option the costs of implementation – and the possible impact on trees – are claimed to be  “prohibitive”.

There are issues which need addressing at both ends of the route.

 The area around the College and the Moor Lane roundabout is awkward for all users. The option of using all the available budget, to install a congestion busting, pedestrian/cycle underpass from the college to the Tesco side of the road, has been brushed aside.

Similarly – the much less costly to remedy – problem of cyclists safely re-joining the highway from off road cycle paths (The Mount and Moor Lane) merits barely a mention.

“wands” may be used to segregate cycle lanes

One new idea which may be included is the use of what are called “light wands” to separate cycle lanes from general traffic. These are in use in some parts of London

Problems for south bound cyclists at the road junctions in the Mount area are also summarily dismissed.

The Council are also planning to spend another £5 million on further maintenance works on the road next year.

Reporting Council issues on-line

The York Council has offered a 24/7 on-line system for reporting problems with services for over a decade. It can be accessed by clicking here. It has been criticised for being awkward to use on some mobile devices while some services – for example housing repairs reports – are not covered. The main criticism has been the arcane feedback system which depends on a customer retaining a list of reference numbers and manually reconciling them against street locations.

The ”Fix My Street” commercial system is better. Anyone using Fix My Street (which could have been used as the bases for the York IT system) knows that, although transmission to the York Council is automated, entry into the local CRM system is not. Delays can therefore occur. The system is also reliant on customers providing on-line updates when problems have been resolved.

We recently were invited via “Twitter” to report a long-standing issue about poor path surfaces in Tadcaster using the North Yorkshire County Council on-line system.

The system can be accessed by clicking here.

The issue – which concerned the poor condition of the foot/cycle path and carriageway adjacent to the old A64 on the outskirts of Tadcaster –  had already been reported last October. There had been no response to the report.

The hope had been that the money made available to local authorities to encourage “sustainable travel” might have been used to upgrade this “missing link” in the path network.

The NYCC reporting system plots reports on a publicly accessible map

A map on the NYCC web site indicates the location and status of all reports. This is a useful system if it avoids unnecessary duplicate reports. Unfortunately, the update status does not give any indication of the target time for filling a pothole (or completing resurfacing work).

When a report is made to NYCC a confirmation email is sent to (registered) users. Unfortunately, this does not produce much useful – or apparently accurate – information (see below).

The highways inspector may face a long trip according to the automatically generated response. The report was however correctly located on the local issue map

Reported issues do appear on the on line issue map very quickly.

In essence, what customers want to know, then they report a public service issue, is how long will it take to fix?

It seems that most local authorities have some way to go before they automatically provide this basic information.

UPDATE

Very swift response from North Yorks highways.

Repairs promised within 90 days. Hopefully in Islington, that well know suburb of Tadcaster, not the one in London!

)

Road works set to continue on Tadcaster Road

Road users face several more months of congestion on one of York’s main arterial routes.

We commented on Friday that it seemed that gas main works at Micklegate Bar would not be finished by todays deadline.

Gas main replacement work on Tadcaster Road 27th February 2021

Further down the route gas main laying is edging forward but with no end in sight.

Work at the St Helens Road junction is due to start tomorrow.

Now the Council has said that it will also start drainage testing, cleaning and improvement works on the section from the A64 to the Askham Bar roundabout.

The work is expected to last for 5 weeks. (This is the section of carriageway which wasn’t resurfaced last year). Most of the work is expected to take place in the late afternoon or overnight.

When this work is completed, works are planned for the section between Askham Bar and Blossom Street.

The improvements are expected to cost around £5 million.

While we think that the Council is right to get as much work done, on well used roads, while traffic levels are relatively low, we are not convinced that the last years work, and this years projects, could not have been better coordinated.