For those of you who wait with bated breath for the newsletter to come out on the first weekend of the month, a piece of news. In future it will appear the Sunday after the YCC committee meetings, which are usually the first Monday of the month (except for bank holidays when they are a week later). In other words, the newsletter will continue to be monthly but its precise timing will depend on the vagaries of the calendar.

Mayoral hustings on transport

The York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Election Transport Hustings take place on Monday 8th April, 18.30 – 20.00, at Friargate Meeting House. York Cycle Campaign together with York Civic Trust and other organisations are sponsoring this event. 

Thursday 2nd May will see the biggest shake up in local government in this region for fifty years with the election of a mayor to oversee the new combined authorities of York and North Yorkshire. The new mayor will enjoy devolved powers and a considerable budget amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds with enhanced agency in the area of transport in particular. In the light of the imminent new transport strategy from City of York council, this could be a game-changing moment for cycling and active transport in our area.

All five mayoral candidates will be debating the key issues around transport. If you would like to submit a question in advance, this can be done by email. If yours is selected, ideally you’d be there on the night to put it to the candidates as part of a structured Q&A session (BBC Question Time-style). Whilst we cannot guarantee that all questions will make the final selection, there will also be an opportunity for some open questions on the night. Come along and support your campaign and show the candidates the depth of feeling that exists in York about cycling and active travel.     

Want to get more involved in York Cycle Campaign?

Come along on Tuesday 13 Mar, 7pm – 9pm in Spark (upstairs) if you’re willing to be a local YCC rep in our ward and/or want to campaign on issues like getting cycle hangars for residential streets. If you’re definitely going, please email Andy D’Agorne so he knows how many seats to grab! The meeting will be fairly short and allow for informal discussion if it gets too noisy! 

April Kidical Mass ride: the future is in your hands 

We are hoping to hold one of our popular family-friendly Kidical Mass rides on the weekend of 20/21 April. However, we can’t confirm until we know whether there are enough volunteer marshals. Please get in touch if you can help –  no experience necessary! 

Consultation on Front Street

Could the infamous bollards on Acomb’s Front Street be reconsidered? The Council is consulting about the future of Acomb’s main street, and their final drop-in session will take place on Saturday 16 March, 1pm-4pm, at the Gateway Centre. There is also an online survey  (available as paper copies at Acomb Explore) to be completed by Sunday 24 March. There are exhibition boards at Acomb Explore until 15 March.

Tier pulls out of York

After 31 May, the pale green e-bikes and e-scooters will disappear from York’s roads and cycle paths (and cycle stands). Tier has decided not to renew its contract to continue the trial that has been running since 2020. Cllr Pete Kilbane, executive member for transport, said they would be looking for another operator to take over.

Tadcaster Road triumph…

A Campaign member contacted the Council about the failure to reinstate the inbound on-road cycle lanes from Dringhouses Cemetery to Moor Lane roundabout leaving conditions worse for cyclists than before the work started!  We’ve just heard that the Council’s Head of Major Transport Projects has responded agreeing to reinstate the lane.  

…and tragedy

However, the Campaign was very disappointed that plans to widen the narrow shared path around the corner near Sim Balk Lane junction were dropped due to over-spending on earlier phases. 

Local Transport Strategy progress

At their meeting on 14 March, the Council Executive is due to receive an update report summarising information collected during York’s consultation on Local Transport and work in other relevant transport areas. Officers will then prepare a Local Transport Strategy which takes into account the information presented in the report. 

Station frontage design

The new design for the station frontage once the Queen Street bridge has been demolished is being finalised. New bus stops and cycle lanes are due to be in place by the end of 2024. Andy D’Agorne and Andy Shrimpton attended two ‘workshops’ last month along with reps from other organisations such as York Bus Forum, York Civic Trust and a range of disability groups, to consider potential last minute changes.

Principal concerns have been crossing points for cycles and pedestrians over vehicle access and pedestrians over cycle lanes. We have reflected concerns at any removal of cycle provision and the inadequate elements of what has been designed. In particular we have highlighted the absence of a sensible cycle route from the Holgate Road route into the current car park to reach the platform cycle parking.

The plans for cycle access from Tea Room Square to the Scarborough Bridge ramp are also inadequate. We have also supported the call for the new road layout to be a 20mph limit from the outset. We hope that some improvements can be arrived at before construction gets underway.  

Pothole problems

We announced last month that Cycling UK’s reporting tool for potholes and other cycling hazards has been relaunched. And not a moment too soon. Towards the end of February, a cyclist came off his bike in Terry Avenue, having hit a pothole which was obscured by water. He suffered a broken shoulder. The Council filled in the pothole the following day, and outlined its schedule regarding road repairs. As well as the Cycling UK tool, the Council has its own site to report road damage. 

Flooding in York – cycling survey

The past four months of high rainfall has created puddling and flooding on the routes around York. Two Campaign members are interested in finding out how cyclists coped. If you have been affected, please consider responding to our short survey before Monday 25 March 2024. With climate change, our weather is likely to get even rainier and it is important the the council and other agencies put appropriate measures in place. A few minutes of your time will help us campaign on this, and any findings will be shared in a future newsletter.

Chance to pedal to Germany’s ‘cycling capital’

Learn through experience how active travel can change the way we live, by biking through the Netherlands to Munster, Germany’s ‘cycling capital’, this June. Accommodation in Munster is with local hosts and is free, but you cover your own travel expenses. Full details here. Read the blog of the 2022 exchange and see pictures of the 2023 exchange. There is also a report on how Munster became a cycle-friendly city. If you’re interested or have questions, email YCC member Steve Copland.

Secure cycle parking

A number of members have been in touch with us asking about having secure bike parking on their street, as is commonplace around London, Brighton and a growing number of other cities (cyclehoop bike shelters seem to be the most popular design – see YCC’s “42 Ways” manifesto). If this is something you think is needed in your neighbourhood please get in touch and email Cllr Pete Kilbane to ask that having these across the city (6 bikes in the space of 1 car parking space!) is included in York’s Transport Strategy.  

And Finally…. 

Norway may have more hills than York, but maybe we want to adopt this cycle escalator eg up Micklegate when the wind and rain are against you?

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