They are being offered spaces in the new station multi-storey car park when it is built as compensation.
Queen Street
The block of terraced houses facing the Bar Walls has had a residents-only parking facility for over 25 years. Now they face a parking ban as the Council aims to provide an off-road cycle path outside their homes.
The new carriageway would be wide enough to accommodate both parking bays and a cycle lane.
Residents have recorded objections to the plan. They claim that those with disabilities will be disadvantaged with carer visits and house repairs a particular problem.
The proposed parking ban was first supported by Green Councillor Andy D’Agorne when he was responsible for transport in the City.
His successor, Labour Micklegate Councillor Peter Kilbane, was supposed to make a final decision next week but it appears that he is ducking out of the responsibility and is passing the buck to Cllr Douglas
Preliminary work on demolishing the Queen Street bridge is expected to start shortly
Work can begin this Autumn to create a fitting gateway to York after plans to transform the railway station entrance planning committee approved.
The plans to modernise the arrival to the station include removing Queen Street bridge, which hasn’t been needed since trains stopped passing under it in the 1960s. Removing the bridge will create space for vastly improved access for all modes of transport while revealing hidden sections of the city’s historic walls.
The scheme has been developed by the Council in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Network Rail and LNER.
The plans will change and improve the entrance to the railway station in order to:
keep vehicles and pedestrians apart
make it easier to change between modes of transport
create new public spaces and a more pedestrian-friendly experience
create an improved setting for the City Walls and other heritage buildings in the area
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
Plans that will see the front of York Railway Station transformed with the removal of Queen Street Bridge and reorganising the layout leading into the station are now available to comment on using the planning portal.
The plans were submitted last month following an extensive public consultation in summer 2018 which saw over 1,500 people share their feedback on the scheme. People now have the opportunity to comment on the submission atwww.york.gov.uk/planning (ref no19/00535/FULM and 19/00542/LBC). Following this it is expected to go before the planning committee in summer.
Following feedback from the public consultation designers altered the master plan to take into account the comments.
Different landowners and funding arrangements mean that plans for the area will be delivered in phases, each with appropriate partners, planning approval and timescales. We’re working closely with Network Rail, London North Eastern Railway and Northern Powerhouse.
The project to transform the front of York Station will receive funding through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
According to the First website there are changes to the diversion put in place to avoid the Lendal Gyratory roadworks
From Sat 3rd March
Lendal Gyratory
From Saturday 3rd March, there will be revisions to the diversions for the roadworks on Lendal Gyratory.
This is because the roadworks are moving to the Station Avenue/Leeman Road junction and what was planned to be the most disruptive phase of the roadworks has now finished and did not cause as many issues as anticipated. However, the gyratory will not be able to cope with all services returning to normal.
Services 3, 4 and 9
Will revert to normal running
NB. Apparently 3s and 4s are back to their normal route to serve the Station today (Thursday)
Services 59 and 66
Remain on current diversions
These diversions will remain in operation until further notice but may change again as we assess the extent of the disruption.
According to the First website there are changes to the diversion put in place to avoid the Lendal Gyratory roadworks
York News Focus 