York Local Transport Strategy 2024-2040
Our journey to be healthier,
more sustainable and better connected.
Local Transport Strategy Implementation Plan 2024-2026
Foreword
Earlier this year we approved our Local Transport Strategy and set out our vision for a healthier, more sustainable and better connected city. It’s now my pleasure to introduce our Transport Implementation Plan, which details the measures that will enable us to turn that vision into reality.
Within this plan you won’t find lots of big shiny infrastructure projects; instead our plan recognises that we need to make better use of what we already have. Bus priority measures will produce regular, reliable bus services, cutting through congestion and providing a genuine alternative to taking the car. Reviewing speed limits will cut the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Implementing a parking strategy will make best use of our highways, providing residents with car parking and encouraging visitors to use our Park & Ride. Defining a freight network will improve air quality, protect our heritage buildings and reduce the wear and tear on our roads. And repairing and maintaining our many miles of pavements and cycle paths will create year-round safe, connected routes for walking, wheeling and cycling, giving independence to those who don’t have access to a car.
The measures outlined in this plan build the foundations for our forthcoming Movement and Place Plan, which will map out connected networks for all modes of travel and identify how best to balance the needs of streets as travel corridors and as places where people live, shop, go to school and enjoy their leisure. We will refresh the Implementation Plan at the end of 2026, adding in the measures needed to enact the Movement and Place Plan. But in the meantime we have an ambitious programme of work that will start us on a journey towards a more accessible, affordable, sustainable and healthy city. Let’s get started!
Councillor Kate Ravilious
Executive Member for Transport
Contents
Introduction
Our Strategy to 2040
Targets and Trajectories
Our Measures
Our approach to determining priorities
Package 2: Walking, wheeling and cycling
Package 3: Shaping Healthy Places
Package 4: Improving public transport
Package 5: Safeguarding our environment
Package 6: Creating a Movement and Place Plan
Package 7: Reduce car dependency
Package 8: Improving freight and logistics
Package 9: Maintenance and Enforcement
Package 10: Funding, Monitoring and Evaluation
Introduction
In July 2024 City of York Council adopted a new Local Transport Strategy[1]. This document presents an Implementation Plan for that Strategy. The majority of the measures included in this plan are intended to be implemented or well underway by the end of 2026, creating the necessary foundation for York’s long term Local Transport Strategy - which will be informed by the Movement and Place Plan we will soon develop.
This Implementation Plan will be updated once the Movement and Place Plan network has been formulated (by the end 2025), to incorporate the measures identified to support the proposed network changes. An updated Implementation Plan will be published in the second half of 2026.
The Local Transport Strategy covers the period to 2040. This Implementation Plan and the following Movement and Place Plan chart the steps needed to deliver the vision for 2040 set out in our strategy, with safe and reliable networks for walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport. Providing these networks will make walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport the default ways of getting around York. In the process we will improve access to opportunity for people without a car, reduce air and noise pollution and improve the physical health and mental wellbeing of York’s residents – in line with the EACH[2] priorities expressed in York’s Council Plan. Falling car use, in response to the improvements we will make to walking, cycling, wheeling and public transport, will help deliver the targets in York’s Climate Change Strategy[3], including a 20% reduction in driven miles in York.
This Implementation Plan is being prepared during a period of high uncertainty around future funding availability for local transport and future governance structures, with both the new York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and a new UK government only beginning to set out their plans and priorities. However, we are confident that our vision for York complements the emerging Mayoral vision for York and North Yorkshire, and the Government’s vision for transport nationally, and therefore anticipate that funding will start to emerge for the kind of schemes we are looking to deliver. Our ambition to 2040 is very high – so this document articulates the key early enabling schemes, study programmes and pilots which will inform scheme specification and delivery later. Our Strategy sets targets to achieve by 2040 (or in some cases earlier) and this document sets the initial targets to achieve in the first years of the Strategy.
As such, this Implementation Plan builds the foundations for the wider strategy – but there will still be much work to do after this initial period to achieve the Council’s longer term ambition to transform transport in York to make the city a healthy, fair, safe and attractive place to live.
Our Strategy to 2040
Achieving our vision requires large scale change to York’s transport network. In the Local Transport Strategy we recognise that an impasse has developed: respondents to our consultation recognised that congestion impacts negatively on everyone in York. Measures to address these problems by reallocating road space to improve bus services, provide better routes for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelers and reduce car dependency were widely supported.
Much of York has a fixed size road network – at least in many places. Widening roads and enlarging junctions is often impossible in York, and even in the locations where this is an option it is rarely a solution for traffic congestion, with clear evidence that road expansion leads to more vehicle traffic (a term known as induced demand)[4]. In many places in the city large volumes of traffic impose air and noise pollution on residents to an extent which is increasing unacceptable, breaching UK air quality thresholds in some places[5].
Fixing these problems will require ingenuity, bold decisions, reallocation of road space to sustainable modes of transport and investment over the long term. We need to be ready for new funding opportunities, to be willing to put York forward as a place to pilot new ideas, and to make the case for sustained investment that will bring about the long-term change our city needs to see. We need to learn from best practice elsewhere and select and enact the schemes that can make the most beneficial difference in York. We need to strengthen our bus services with new routes and better service frequencies. This will need to be supported by more extensive bus priorities to ensure services are reliable.
Continuous networks of safe cycle routes will be needed. Many of the city’s existing facilities will have to be upgraded. We will need to tackle the maintenance backlog on our pavements and roads. Charging infrastructure will be needed to support the replacement of petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles. Upgrading the tired streets in York city centre will be a major project. Changes will be required across the city – in the villages and our streets. How York works with the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, as well as other partners such as property developers, large organisations in York such as the Hospital and universities, and central government, will be crucial in supporting the ambition we have for the city.
As stated above, although this document identifies initial priorities, it is written at a time when funding and governance structures are fluid. This is an opportunity for York to capitalise on expected support for active travel and carbon reduction programmes from central government, with potential enhanced powers and/ or funding for the new Mayoral Combined Authority. It is also possible that changes to housing targets and national planning policy may result in York’s housing target increasing – which would require additional housing sites to be identified around the city – something which would see changes in the number, distribution and types of journey in the city.
As such, whilst this document sets out the actions necessary to start the journey towards our 2040 vision, a focus on delivery will be required to ensure funding and timely delivery of the specified measures, and an adaptable approach may be needed over time as the new Mayorality and central government determine their priorities.
Objectives and Targets
As agreed in July 2024, York’s new Local Transport Strategy supports ten objectives:
1. Support an inclusive, accessible, affordable city
2. Support delivery of the Climate Change Strategy
3. Support delivery of the Economic Development Strategy
4. Improve health and wellbeing through healthy place shaping
5. Enhance safety and personal security
6. Improve the local environment by reducing air pollution and noise
7. Enhance the reliability of the transport system
8. Protect the city’s heritage and enhance public spaces.
9. Accommodate the envisaged growth of the city in the most sustainable way
10. Future-proof our city
To measure achievement against these objectives we propose to collect data as set out in the table below. The table also sets out the targets we are seeking to achieve at the end of the period covered by this Implementation Plan (2027), an intermediate year (2030) aligned with the Climate Change Strategy and the final year of the Local Transport Strategy (2040).
|
Objective |
Metric |
Base |
Interim year |
Target |
||
|
|
|
2019 |
Data needed for 2023 |
2027 |
2030 |
2040 |
|
Inclusive access |
% within 20 min. of key activities |
To specify |
Take from bus network review |
80% |
85% |
95% |
|
% with under-provision of buses |
2014 = 17% |
10% |
8% |
5% |
||
|
Climate |
Carbon emissions from transport |
2005 = 100 |
Traffic data |
-60% |
-71%A |
-90% |
|
Car trips |
2019=100 |
Roadside count data |
-10% |
-20% |
-20% |
|
|
Bus journeys |
2022=100 |
Ticket sales |
+25% |
+50% |
+60% |
|
|
Active travel journeys |
2022=100 |
Roadside count data |
+50% |
+100% |
+150% |
|
|
Economy |
City centre footfall |
To specify |
Footfall cameras |
+10% |
+15% |
+20% |
|
Employment in York |
To specify |
|
Align with Local Plan |
|||
|
Health |
Pedestrian/ cycle activity |
Bridge and cordon counts |
|
+50% |
100% |
+150% |
|
Safety |
All fatal and serious casualties |
2019 = 433B |
|
-30% |
-40% |
-100%C |
|
Active travel casualties |
To define |
|
-30% |
-40% |
-70% |
|
|
Local environment |
NO2 emissions |
From AQM sites |
|
-25% |
-35% |
-50% |
|
PM2.5 emissions |
|
-10% |
-13% |
-20% |
||
|
Reliability |
Travel times on network |
Bus timing data |
|
-5% |
-10% |
-20% |
|
Ratio of (peak - inter-peak travel time) to inter-peak travel time |
|
-20% |
-30% |
-40% |
||
|
Number of junctions at capacity |
Monitoring |
|
-30% |
-40% |
-60% |
|
|
Queue lengths on critical links |
Monitoring |
|
-20% |
-30% |
-50% |
|
|
Heritage |
Traffic flows (including freight movements) past key sites or in and around the city centre |
Bridge counts and cordon counts |
|
-20% |
-30% |
-50% |
|
Future growth |
% journeys in new developments sustainable |
Developer travel plan monitoring |
|
50% |
60% |
65% |
|
Resilience |
Number of bus network “void days” per year. Riverside paths out of use days per year |
|
|
|
|
|
Our Measures
Our Approach to Determining Priorities…
…is to put in place the foundations that enable us to tackle the most pressing problems – as identified through Our Big Transport Conversation – first. This process is also informed by York’s “transport modal hierarchy”, which has been in use since the 1990s with ongoing use endorsed by 81% of respondents in Our Big Transport Conversation[6]
|
People with protected characteristics who are pedestrians, wheelchair users, wheelers etc. Other pedestrians. |
|
Cyclists with protected characteristics and other cyclists |
|
Public transport users with protected characteristics and other public transport users |
|
Disabled car drivers and passengers |
|
Powered two wheelers |
|
Commercial and business users |
|
Car drivers and passengers |
|
Parked vehicles on the highway |
In the short term we are fortunate in already having funding in place to deliver a series of important schemes and initiatives. However, for some additional schemes we are now looking to deliver in the short term we will need to obtain fresh funding or review Council budgets to support our new priorities. In some cases we are proposing initiatives which are new to York. Whilst some of these new initiatives support our new transport strategy so well they can be immediately adopted, others need to be piloted. Where this is the case we will pilot schemes then monitor their impact to assess whether they should continue – and be expanded to other areas – or be adapted or withdrawn.
Our transport strategy is very ambitious. Many of our longer term aspirations will generate benefits not just in transport but also health, place-making, the economy, mitigating climate change, assisting with delivering the growth seen in the Local Plan – and many other things. Where this is the case careful planning is required to support Strategy delivery later. An early priority is production of York’s “Movement and Place Plan”[7] This will be crucial in setting out which transport schemes and initiatives in York will support the Council’s wider objectives, as set out in the Council Plan.[8]
In the public engagement over Winter 2023/4 it was made clear to us that York’s transport problems are complex. Although we identified 10 “Policy Focus Areas”[9] roughly structured around different modes of transport and priorities, such as creating healthy places and reducing car dependency, in practice some of the transport schemes suggested had the ability to address problems experienced by users of more than one mode of transport, or gave benefits across more than one of our priorities – for example, improvements for pedestrians and cyclists also (through lower car use and increased physical activity) helped to reduce pollution and improve health. We have developed packages of measures to align with each policy focus area, but note that many of the measures help to achieve objectives across multiple policy focus areas.
Package 1: Accessibility
Package 2: Walking, wheeling and cycling
Package 3: Shaping Healthy Places
Package 4: Improving public transport
Package 5: Safeguarding our environment
Package 6: Creating a Movement and Place Plan
Package 7: Reduce car dependency
Package 8: Improving freight and logistics
Package 9: Maintenance and Enforcement
Package 10: Funding, Monitoring and Evaluation
Package 1: Accessibility
Our Accessibility package is designed to support the Accessibility and Equality elements of the 2023-27 Council Plan.
The Accessibility Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
Addresses PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Additional city centre blue badge spaces |
1, 3 |
Yes |
|
Adapted cycle parking |
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
Yes |
|
Barrier removal programme |
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
Yes |
|
Seating programme |
1, 2, 3, 5, 7 |
Partial |
|
Adapted cycle training |
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
Partial |
|
Inclusive design training |
All |
Yes |
|
Pavement enhancement programme |
All |
Partial |
In the short term we will focus on additional provision of city centre blue badge parking, including the repurposed Castle car park. Our target is to have blue badge parking available within 150m of significant trip attractors. We will also provide parking for a range of adapted cycles in the city centre, including the secure hub referred to in PFA2, and district centres, and we will work with employers and other partner organisations to achieve this across York.
We will continue with our existing barrier removal programme – which is improving access to off road paths and snickleways across the city. We will provide training in accessible design for the Council highways and transport staff to assist scheme delivery and also ensure that the transport consultants we use also have these skills. We will provide more seating across York (our target is to have seating every 50m), with an early focus on the city centre and district and village centres. We will work with partners on projects to widen the availability of adapted cycles and training for new users.
Many of the interventions which will make York more accessible are described in the other sections of this Implementation Plan. These include making buses more accessible, including a “bus buddy” scheme and seeking funding to provide a replacement to the Dial and Ride service which was lost last year (set out in the “Improving Public Transport” section). Measures to improve pedestrian crossings are set out in the “Improving Walking, Wheeling and Cycling” section – which also includes a commitment to a major upgrade of York city centre to improve its accessibility, and commitments to improving village and district centres in York. Community audits to ensure people have the local services they need close to hand are set out in the “Shape Healthy Places” section of the Implementation Plan.
In the medium to long term York’s emerging Movement and Place Plan (Policy Focus Area 6) will shape schemes and initiatives to make York a more accessible city. This will be delivered through a mix of technical assessment and engagement between now and the end of 2025.
Package 2: Improve Walking, Wheeling and Cycling
Enabling active travel – that is walking, wheeling and cycling – is one of the most important elements of York’s new Local Transport Strategy. Calculations (overleaf) made during preparation of the Local Transport Strategy presented to the Council’s Executive in July[10] demonstrate that, to achieve York’s Climate Change commitments, the proportion of trips in the city undertaken by pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists will need to increase from around 30% now to 45% by 2040. Because the absolute number of trips in York increases over this period (because the city’s population will increase), this represents an approximate doubling in the number of walk, wheel and cycle trips. Our programmes to transform active travel will affect all of York – including its villages, suburbs, district centres, employment areas and large trip generators such as the Hospital.
Walking, wheeling and cycling promote physical and mental health and are exceptionally efficient uses of York’s limited road space. For many local journeys these are also the fastest ways of getting around and the cost of travelling by walking, wheeling and cycling is very low. Walking, wheeling and cycling are also able to cater for journeys where the origin and destination are dispersed – unlike fixed route public transport, it is possible to connect any two places in York using these modes (with the exception of locations in the footstreets where cycling is currently not permitted). Walking, wheeling and cycling are also the modes of transport used most often to access public transport – though walking and cycling to bus stops, park and ride terminals and railway stations.
The adoption of new technology is also transforming the ways people travel actively. E-cycles make it easier for people to travel longer distances – and/ or carry cargo and smaller children. They also open up new opportunities for disabled people and the market of adapted e-cycles is expanding. We also need to anticipate and plan for greater use of electric scooters – which can be a good way to cover shorter distances or do connected journeys.
The Active Travel Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
Addresses PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Review capital programme to deliver highest priority schemes |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Yes |
|
Enhance maintenance |
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 |
Partially |
|
Pilot radials, village and district schemes |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 |
No |
|
Pilot village |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 |
No |
|
Pilot neighbourhood |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 |
No |
|
Better travel information and support for active travel |
1, 2, 5, 7, 9 |
Yes |
|
School Streets |
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 |
Partially |
|
Home zones |
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 |
No |
In the short term we will review and reprofile schemes within our capital programme (guided by our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan) to ensure that we deliver the highest priority schemes at pace. The reviewed programme will be published soon, and will include the improvements to the Riverside route (between Scarborough Bridge and Jubilee Terrace) which has been funded by Active Travel England and is a priority because it will become the key active travel route when Leeman Road is stopped up next year. We will continue to deliver our programme to remove barriers on the off road cycle network – continuing the work which has already improved access to strays such as Hob Moor for wheelers and users of adapted cycles. We will deliver better cycle parking in the centre of York and team up with a provider to install cycle hangars in residential areas. We will implement temporary cycle parking for special events (such as the York Christmas Market) where attracting people by cycle will help manage congestion and, funding permitting, we will provide a secure cycle parking hub in York city centre to reduce thefts of e-cycles and adapted bikes – something which discourages many from buying or using e-cycles.
We will continue and enhance our existing programmes to provide dropped crossings, more and better pedestrian crossings (including changes to signals to give pedestrians and cyclists more priority at junctions) and we will provide more benches across York to give places for people to meet and dwell and rest on walking/ cycling journeys if they need to. The priorities in this programme will be informed by the very useful information collected in Our Big Transport Conversation. This identified particular problems for pedestrians and cyclists on some of the key junctions on the Inner Ring Road, such as Blossom Street/ Queen Street, Bootham/ Gillygate and Skeldergate Bridge/ Tower Street. It also identified problems with the Rougier Street – Tower Street cross-city route which will be tackled by the scheme outlined in the City Centre Package.
We will set aside dedicated budget to upgrade and maintain our footways and lobby for powers to control pavement parking and instances when vegetation obstructs footways. We will also increase maintenance spend on our off road footpaths and cycleways. We will produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan and commit to developing our Highway Design Guide by the end of 2025 which will set common standards for footpaths and cycle facilities in new developments and when existing installations and infrastructure are being updated.
We will seek funding to develop comprehensive active travel measures along one radial route and the neighbourhoods adjacent to that route to showcase the kind of transformation that can be achieved across the entire city by the end of this transport strategy. This will include continuous protected cycle infrastructure along the radial route, priority ‘Copenhagen style’ crossings of side streets, dropped kerbs to enable wheeled access along pavements, clear safe walking, wheeling and cycling routes to schools with pedestrian crossings, and if we are granted the relevant Government legislation, the trial of ‘School streets’. We will also look to implement ‘home zone streets’ with communities that would like to enhance the residential feel and safety of their neighbourhood.
We will also develop a village “pilot” where active travel and public transport links are greatly improved and look to upgrade active travel infrastructure to a district centre in one of York’s suburbs. We will also, funding permitting, look to pilot a travel hub in a district centre.
We will also upgrade the information provided to pedestrians and cyclists through an update of the existing York Cycle Route Map, plus develop maps centred around every secondary school in York, outlining the sustainable travel options to reach school, to be given to every student starting at that school. And we will seek funding to deliver a walking, wheeling and cycling buddy scheme, supporting people with route finding and gaining confidence using these modes of travel, to enable them to choose active modes of travel for everyday journeys (see Package 7: Reducing Car Dependency).
We will provide our highways and transport team with training in Inclusive Design principles, and to provide an in-depth understanding of the latest guidance around active travel infrastructure, including LTN1/20 (see also Package 9: Maintenance).
We will continue to investigate “micro-mobility” schemes with the intention of replacing the TIER mobility scheme which came to an end earlier this year.
Our Long Term Aspiration to 2040: In the long term 45% of all trips in York will be by walk, wheeling or cycling and these will be the most used modes for local personal travel. We will have built a comprehensive network of lit, well maintained walk, wheel and cycle routes around York. It will be easy and safe for active travellers of all ages and abilities to travel around the city and e-bikes will carry people over longer distances. E-cargo bikes will play a large part in servicing the shops and businesses in York city centre and beyond. In places where people travelling actively mix with vehicles, the active travellers will be prioritised.
Further active travel measures can be found in:
· The Accessibility Package
· The Shaping Healthy Places
· The Public Transport Package
· The Reducing Car Dependency Package
· The Movement and Place Plan Package
· The Freight Package
Package 3: Shaping Healthy Places
Key to York’s new Local Transport Strategy will be “Shaping Healthy Places”. By this we mean providing places in the city which are easy and safe to walk, wheel and cycle around, have the facilities and services which people need close at hand, and good public transport for longer journeys. Reduced traffic levels will assist in reducing air and noise pollution.
All packages in the Implementation Plan contribute to delivering healthy places in York. In the medium to long term the Movement and Place Plan (which has its own package) will identify priorities and chart a course to provide healthy places. The Movement and Place Plan will also include a new Highway Design Guide and Transport Supplementary Planning Document to the Local Plan – both of which will have a key role in shaping healthy places, both in existing development and new developments.
The Shape Healthy Places Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
Addresses PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Community Audit and bus network review |
All |
Yes |
|
City Centre Hub |
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 |
No |
|
Healthy Streets exemplars programme |
All |
No |
|
Vision Zero |
All |
Partial |
|
20 mph city |
All |
Partial |
In the short term we will adopt a “Healthy Streets” policy for much of our regeneration and development work, so that we enable and prioritise active travel for local journeys. Part of this will be to undertake an audit of what facilities are provided in each neighbourhood in York. This work, which has already been started through the preparation of York’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan will be augmented with a bus network review. The audit and bus network review will allow us to see where facilities and links are missing – and we can then prioritise actions to address this.
The Walking, Wheeling and Cycling package sets out our aspiration to provide a city centre hub for secure cycle parking. We would also like this to include mobility scooter/ wheelchair puller unit hire, pushchairs, parcel lockers, travel information and cycle hire and cycle repairs.
We will develop exemplar healthy streets through our other programmes – particularly the city centre sustainable transport route (see the Improving Public Transport package). We will also identify locations for potential home zones and seek funding to deliver projects there. We will seek funding to enhance the place based improvements within The Groves for walkers, wheelers and cyclists, locking in the benefits of removing through-traffic from this area. The Improving Walking, Wheeling and Cycling package include commitments to pilots on radial routes, villages, district centres and an enhanced programme of School Streets.
We will complement this activity with our commitment to Vision Zero – which seeks to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our road network to zero by 2040. Important enabling measures will be the city centre sustainable transport route, reduced speed limits to 20 mph and provision of continuous and often segregated facilities for cyclists – these measures being outlined in greater detail in the city centre and active travel packages. We will use Health Impact Assessments on our major transport projects and apply ‘decide and provide’ methodologies to our transport projects and planning applications.
A key enabling measure will be speed reductions. York currently has 20 mph limits in much of its built-up area. We will look to expand this and will start by engaging with stakeholders and the wider community to explore how York could become a ‘20mph city’ and what that would mean in practice. We will analyse the potential benefits and disadvantages of 20mph limits and will monitor the current 20mph trial in Bishopthorpe with a view to assessing the benefits and applying it in other villages around York imminently.
Package 4: Improving Public Transport
Public transport in York is currently comprised of bus, rail and taxi. Many of our visitors arrive by coach and there is small scale public transport for tourists from York’s riverboat providers and a road train between the city centre and the National Railway Museum.
Presently there are around 14 million bus trips a year in York (nearly 40,000 a day) and 10 million rail trips to/ from York and Poppleton stations.
In York the bus is the most effective way of carrying people over medium distances – 2 to 5 miles – between fixed destinations. Meanwhile, a legacy of cuts to rail services has left many surrounding towns and villages off the rail network – so bus is also important for trips between York and Tadcaster, Pickering, Stamford Bridge, Pocklington and Wetherby.
York enjoys rail connections throughout the UK with much of the country within a two-hour journey of York. There are existing significant upgrade projects in hand for both the East Coast Mainline and Transpennine line and York needs to plan for a significant forecast increase in the number of rail passengers to and from York.
There are currently 190 licensed hackney carriages in York and 435 private hire vehicles. Around 45 of each type are wheelchair accessible. In practice there are also varying numbers of Uber vehicles licensed outside York, but operating in the city, particularly on days with high demand, such as race days.
The Public Transport Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
City Centre Sustainable Transport Route |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
Yes |
|
Park and ride hubs |
1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10 |
Yes |
|
BSIP fare initiatives |
1, 4, 5, 7, 10 |
Yes |
|
Dial-a-Ride replacement |
1, 4, 5 |
No |
|
Haxby Station |
2, 4, 5, 7 |
Partially |
In the short term we will deliver a “city centre sustainable transport route”. This route will run from the Station frontage via Rougier Street, George Hudson Street, Micklegate, Ouse Bridge, Clifford Street and Tower Street (a route where two-thirds of users are already travelling by bus or active modes[11]) and will see very substantial reductions in through private traffic with active travel, public transport and essential journeys prioritised using a traffic filter. This will provide safer walking and cycling routes into the heart of York city centre and improve bus service reliability, which has been traditionally compromised by congestion in this area of the city. It will also enhance air quality along this corridor, particularly on Rougier St which is currently one of the three areas of York that breaches the legislated air quality standards. This project will proceed alongside the work to regenerate the Castle Gateway area, which will see Castle Car Park transformed into a public space, resulting in a substantial reduction in vehicle traffic to this area, whilst providing good quality parking for Blue Badge holders. Making this change also aligns with policies adopted in 2019[12] and 2021[13]. The Castle Gateway scheme will also provide a new pedestrian/ cycle bridge over the Foss near Foss Basin to improve links between Tower Street and Piccadilly.
Individual improvements will allow buses to be turned around at the Railway Station and the roundabout at the junction of Tower Street and Skeldergate Bridge. This will increase flexibility for operating buses in central York, cutting out many time-consuming movements made currently to turn buses around. Accordingly it will reduce the number of buses on Skeldergate and Nunnery Lane and allow the bus stops of Clifford Street/ Tower Street to be reorganised and distributed more efficiently and logically for passengers.
We will also continue with our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) package[14]. We will improve the park and ride terminals, upgrading them to “multi-modal hubs” offering overnight parking and improved cycle parking facilities for people wishing to cycle to park and ride terminals and travel forward on the bus. We will work with bus and coach operators to increase the number and variety of bus services which call at the park and ride terminals, enhancing links beyond the City of York boundary and enabling longer distance sustainable travel to and from cities and towns outside York. We will improve/ rebuild the terminal buildings at the two eldest park and ride terminals – Grimston Bar and Rawcliffe Bar. We will also continue with our capital programme to upgrade bus stops and shelters across York and provide more real time information in York’s suburbs and villages.
We will also look to provide additional bus priority where it confers a benefit to buses. Our initial focus will be on the approaches to York city centre where services are concentrated – for example on Blossom Street and Clarence Street. We will enforce our existing bus priorities, including better enforcement of the priorities around Pavement, Stonebow and Piccadilly.
We will continue to provide the current reduced fares for young people until the BSIP funding for this is no longer available. We will work with the Mayoral Combined Authority, however, to continue this initiative after the initial funding has been exhausted and we will support continuation of the current £2 maximum bus fare policy which is currently funded by the Department for Transport. We will continue with our project to develop full multi-operator tap-on-tap-off fares building on the co-ordination work done by Transport for the North.
We recognise that the failure of York’s Dial-a-Ride operation in 2023 was a huge loss to some of the most vulnerable members of our community and we will continue to investigate ways to replace this lost provision, building on the work already done by the member led task and finish group[15], We will also work with the taxi and private hire trades to increase the numbers of wheelchair accessible and low emission vehicles in use in York.
Our short term rail projects are focused on completion of the York Station Frontage project, which is already underway; and securing funding to provide the proposed new station at Haxby. We will also work with the rail industry towards reinstating through trains between Leeds and Scarborough and providing a 30 minute frequency service between York and Scarborough. With the Mayoral Combined Authority we will continue to input into the development of Great British Railways so that any changes in service benefit York. We will also work with the elected Mayors in West and South Yorkshire – and the other mayoralities – to improve cross boundary public transport, particularly rail.
During “Our Big Transport Conversation” there was support for using York’s rivers more for public transport, including “park and sail” services. Accordingly, we will work in partnership to promote the existing tourist service which brings passengers into central York from Acaster Malbis in the Summer. We will also work with the coach industry to ensure provision for coach visitors is good, recognising the value they bring to York’s tourist economy.
Our medium term to long term aspirations: are to position York’s bus service to carry 50% more passengers by 2030. We recognise that this will only be achieved by making the service more competitive – with a fully electrified fleet, high customer standards, reasonable fares and high service speeds and reliability. Our aspiration is to see core bus services in York operating at a 10 minute frequency during the day with 20 or 30 minute frequencies in the evenings, on Sundays and on lesser used services. In the “Reducing car dependency” package we set out how we will undertake a review of York’s bus network to look at whether the network currently meets the city’s needs to travel.
We will consider whether the most effective way to provide bus services in York is through the current bus partnership, a “partnership plus” approach[16] or a franchised network. Whatever is decided will be enacted in partnership with the Mayoral Combined Authority and is also likely to involve services operating in North Yorkshire.
We will work with developers through the Local Plan process to consider how best to serve the new developments around York with buses. An early aspect of this will be to consider the potential for guided buses or light rail transport on the corridor south of York which serves the University and will serve the large new development at Elvington Airfield.
We will see the completion of Haxby Station and, with the Mayoral Combined Authority, will consider the potential for other new stations around York.
In the longer term we will work with the Mayoral Combined Authority to assess the case for guided bus and light rail systems (possibly using emerging very light rail technology) to connect York city centre with large new developments and/ or existing large trip generators such as the University.
Further public transport measures can be found in:
· The Accessibility Package
· The Reducing Car Dependency Package
· The Movement and Place Plan package
Package 5: Safeguarding Our Environment
Many places in York are affected by noise and air pollution caused by transport activity, with three areas in York city centre where UK air quality thresholds are breached[17]. The city has been effective in some of its initiatives to improve air quality – in particular the adoption of electric buses for around 65% of all bus journeys in York. Some Council services have also converted to electric vehicles and there is an expectation that electric or hybrid cars will make up around 90% of the vehicle fleet in York by the end of this Strategy in 2040 – through drivers replacing their internal combustion engine vehicles with electric alternatives.
York has a developing network of electric vehicle charging points, including in the city centre and at the park and ride sites two rapid charging hyperhubs have also been provided[18] and there is a likelihood that private providers will increasingly involve themselves in charge point provision. Over the coming year we will complete our EV charging strategy and seek ways to bring widespread coverage, using our parking strategy to help us balance competing needs of highway space. In the longer term there are other potential technology advances – such as inductive charging.
The Safeguarding our Environment package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Electrify remaining bus network |
3, 4, 5 |
No |
|
Signals measures to improve air quality |
3, 5, 6 |
Yes |
|
EV charging strategy roll out |
5 |
No |
|
Garden City Programme: biodiversity strategy for highways assets |
3, 5, 6 |
Partially |
In the short term we will continue with our programme to electrify the bus network, looking to completely electrify the network by 2028. Policies set out earlier in this document will all contribute to the 20% reduction in car miles sought for 2030 – which will itself reduce pollution levels in York. We will pursue initiatives where there are particular air quality problems – for example, in Rougier Street, Blossom Street/Holgate junction and Gillygate, with the intention of using traffic signals to mitigate the worst queuing in air quality management areas in the short term. Whilst the enhancement of York’s Outer Ring Road in the longer term has the potential to assist in improving air quality – through reassignment of traffic away from the city centre to the improved ring road – we will nonetheless look to bring other measures forward in the short term, such as the City Centre Sustainable Transport Route. We will also investigate whether it is feasible for the existing bus clean air zone to be extended to other vehicles to improve air quality in the places where it is currently in excess of UK thresholds.
We will also continue with our EV charging programme. We are currently seeking funds to do this through the Mayoral Combined Authority, but it is likely to be a more general area of activity over the coming years. We will look to trial on-street charging and evaluate its success and scope for further installations in York.
We will embody the principles of the emerging Movement and Place Plan in how we manage our highways. Potential interventions will be reallocation of highway space, traffic reduction, traffic filters and using traffic signals to manage flows on some corridors. Potentially this could include “traffic gating” to maximise efficiency and use of park and ride and improve air quality in the city centre.
We will also look to make the most of our highways assets to reduce air and noise pollution and enable nature to thrive. Within York’s adopted public highways are many hectares of verges, roundabout centres and central reservations. All of our park and ride sites are surrounded by large areas of land, with several also having substantial bodies of water and/ or woodland within their areas. Many car parks incorporate areas of planting and there are many planters on roads and footways across York, as well as many thousands of street trees. The City Walls are a green cordon around the city centre. We will pursue a Garden City programme to maximise the contribution these assets can make to pollution reduction, biodiversity and sustainable urban drainage whilst retaining appropriate road safety and access. We will work with local communities and organisations to progress sustainable planting and create healthy and climate resilient spaces that enable walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport use.
We will seek opportunities to enhance our green infrastructure during our routine highway maintenance and repairs schemes, for example adding sustainable urban drainage, planting trees and creating pocket parks as havens for people and nature to thrive.
In the medium and long terms we will define our pollution reduction measures through the study programme we set out in our “Movement and Place Plan” package.
Further measures to tackle pollution can be found in:
· The Accessibility Package
· The Active Travel Package
· The Public Transport Package
· The Reducing car dependency
· The Planning for the Future Package
Package 6: Create a Movement and Place Plan
The Plan presented to Council in February 2023[19] set out that the last substantial replanning of York’s transport networks took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Whilst York benefits from that work – for example in the shape of the park and ride service and off-road cycle routes in the city – it is time to update the strategy to reflect the needs and priorities of the 2020s. These include addressing the climate crisis and embracing the potential for using sustainable transport to resolve health and social inequalities. Social attitudes to traffic and vehicles have also changed, with car ownership falling in younger age groups[20]. New technologies provide challenges and opportunities, and York has grown as a city in absolute terms.
The Movement and Place Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Produce Movement and Place Plan, Highway Design Guide and Transport SPD |
All |
No – but grant application made to YNYMCA |
|
Gillygate Scheme |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
Yes |
|
Capital programme review |
All |
Yes |
|
Support YNYMCA study programme |
All |
Yes |
Accordingly, we will develop a Movement and Place Plan[21] to map out how our transport networks could change in York to deliver our objectives and targets in the medium to long term. We have already approached the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to fund the study, and related public engagement work, and will be looking to deliver transport network designs and identify the accompanying place-making opportunities by the end of 2025. It will be accompanied by a number of other important studies and plans, particularly:
· A Highways Design Guide which will set out how roads and footways in York are provided – both in new development and when existing roads and junctions are rebuilt. It will incorporate new guidance on accessible infrastructure and design for walking, wheeling and cycling. It will also set out construction standards for new roads and bridges to ensure they can be adopted as public highway by the Council when new developments are complete. It will also include a Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan and Highway Safety Manual.
· A transport supplementary planning document for the Local Plan which will set out how transport is provided for new developments, including standards for bus services and active travel infrastructure
The Movement and Place Plan, Highway Design Guide and SPD will be completed by the end of 2025 if the current application for funding to the Mayoral Combined Authority is granted.
In advance of delivering the Movement and Place plan we will demonstrate the place-making benefits that can be achieved by reallocating road-space. This will include our City Centre Sustainable Transport corridor scheme, which will be developed as an exemplar of place-making, creating opportunities for local businesses to thrive, beautiful spaces that encourage people to relax and linger and celebrating the exceptional history and heritage of our city.
We will also work with stakeholders including York Minster to explore the place-making potential in Duncombe Place by reducing vehicle traffic movements in this area during footstreet hours.
We will also progress a study looking at the options for altering traffic movements on the western side of York’s Inner Ring Road – focusing on the quadrant bounded by Gillygate, Bootham, Wiggington Road, Clarence St and Gillygate, with a particular focus on addressing poor air quality in this area.
We will use traffic signals to manage vehicle movement to achieve place benefits and improve air quality in areas where it is currently poor. We will also explore how simplifying movements on our network (such as banning certain turns) might reduce traffic congestion or free up road space for cycle facilities, better footways or bus priorities. The 20mph city programme (see Package 3) will also assist here.
We will also review our existing capital and maintenance programmes to align them effectively with our readopted modal transport hierarchy. Where we are piloting new approaches – for example in managing freight or new cycling infrastructure – we will use trial projects where we collect data to assess whether the intervention being made has scope for use in other areas. The trials will be assessed using a mixture of methods, including data collection, modelling and public engagement.
The York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is also committed to a study programme to determine its own priorities. This can be expected to cover transport between the towns and cities in North Yorkshire – particularly York to Harrogate and York to Scarborough. The MCA will also consider options for developing rail services and buses across its area and will, ultimately, produce its own Local Transport Plan – although the timescales for this are not currently known.
We will take a vision-led approach to transport planning, designing our city for the future we want to see. Strategic development sites will have their transport and place-making needs assessed and modelled using the ‘Decide and Provide’ approach, with options such as light-rail and high quality active travel infrastructure plus good local facilities being planned from the outset to provide everyone with good living standards, independence and opportunities. This approach is aligned with the emerging changes to NPPF[22] – on which central government is currently consulting.
There will also be a need to consider future transport technology in York – for example connected and autonomous vehicles, drone deliveries, new modes of transport such as e-scooters and so on. It might be appropriate, however, for this to be considered, at least initially, at Mayorality or national levels before a local approach is determined.
Package 7: Reducing car dependency
Around one-third of households in York do not own a car, rising to over 50% of households in some areas closer to the city centre. Nonetheless, having access to a car currently continues to confer significant advantages. Over the course of this transport strategy we will transform York into a city where opportunity is not determined by car ownership – with the full range of travel opportunities to work, training, education, health, shopping and so on available to all, irrespective of whether people have access to a car or not.
The Reducing Car Dependency Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Scale up sustainable transport planning activities |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Partially |
|
Travel buddy schemes |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 |
Partially |
|
Sustainable travel events |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Partially |
|
School Streets programme |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Partially – but wish to scale up |
|
Car Clubs programme |
1, 3, 5, 6, 7 |
Partially |
|
Community audit and bus network review |
All |
Partially |
|
Parking review |
All |
Yes |
We will invest in the Council’s capability for sustainable travel planning. This will include bolstering our existing i-Travel team so that they can provide advice to residents, employers and developers about how to make the most of active modes and public transport. An early focus will be to work with the Hospital to enable more active and sustainable travel and reduce congestion on Wigginton Road.
We will seek funding to support a travel buddy team, providing support to people who want to gain confidence in using public transport, walking, wheeling and cycling. Initially we will focus this support on school and college students, in particular providing assistance with the transition from primary to secondary school, reducing the need for school taxi travel and increasing independence of students. We will also partner with volunteer civic and charitable organisations to offer additional measures such as supported ‘cycle buses’ for children to be able to cycle safely and independently to primary school.
We will also support sustainable travel events such as street parties, community walks and cycle rides, and car free days. We are delighted to be hosting the Active City conference in summer 2025 and will plan sustainable travel events to showcase some of the challenges and opportunities we have in York, to take advantage of the expertise and advice that this prestigious national conference will bring to York.
We will also look to partner with businesses and resident communities that wish to host regular sustainable travel events such as monthly street markets.
As set out in the Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Package, we will pursue a programme of School Streets so that the travel needs of children travelling to school are prioritised. We will also work across sector – for example with the health sector on initiatives such as social prescribing of cycles and loan of e-bikes for health professionals.
We will continue with our current car club initiative, so that people who need to use a car but choose not to own one, can access cars. Over the coming year we will procure further car- club packages to provide more extensive coverage across the city and out to villages, plus access to a wider variety of vehicles including vans.
Non-transport programmes will also play an important role in reducing car dependency – for example continual improvements to broadband connectivity in York will assist those able to work from home, and we will work with partners, for example the NHS, to provide options which do not require travel – such as online medical consultations.
As set out in the Shape Healthy Places package, our work will be guided by a “community audit” which will identify what services and facilities – for example, primary schools, GP surgeries and food shopping – in each ward, district, village or community in the city. This will identify areas where services and facilities are not available and transport upgrades may be required to provide access. Alongside the Community Audit we will undertake a Bus Network Review to identify missing links in the bus network.
Parking strategy: We will develop a consistent and equitable strategy for parking across the city. Initially we will focus on a 2km radius from the city centre and take inspiration from strategies developed for other locations such as the kerbside strategy being used in Lambeth in London[23]. We will also review the pricing at all CYC car parks and peg the charges to the price of family bus ticket. We will review residents parking policies, reviewing pricing and the way we implement residents’ parking to make it more streamlined.
In the medium term we will continue to support greater use of walk, wheeling, cycling and public transport by reallocation of York’s limited road space to those modes of transport. This will be supported by a number of the studies being progressed through the “Planning for a Better Future” package – particularly the Movement and Place Plan, Transport Supplementary Planning Document to the Local Plan and Highway Design Guide.
A key part of our policies to reduce car dependency will relate to new developments and ensuring that they are planned to maximise walking, cycling and public transport use – and have these services from the outset where this is feasible. As set out in Package 6, our new Transport SPD will be central in this.
In the long term we see the improvements to walking, cycling and public transport in York reducing car dependency because people will choose to travel by car less – as a result of the alternatives being convenient, affordable and attractive. Inevitably there will continue to be some car use, and by maximising use of alternatives we will ensure that York’s road network is decongested for those who need to use their cars.
Further measures to reduce car dependence can be found in:
· The Accessibility Package
· The Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Package
· The Shaping Healthy Places Package
· The Public Transport Package
· The Safeguarding our Environment Package
· The Planning for the Future Package
Package 8: Improving Freight and Logistics
Whilst essential to York, freight movements in the city are not inconsequential. As large, heavy vehicles, freight emits a disproportionately high amount of CO2 and pollutants in York. Large vehicles can damage streets, kerbs and structures, result in more wear and tear on our roads, and can be intimidating to pedestrians and cyclists.
The large building projects in York – particularly new developments and York Central – will generate significant numbers of freight movements – for example, of building materials and equipment. The shops and businesses in the city centre, and organisations such as the Hospital and York’s colleges and universities will attract many freight trips. Freight trips are also required to dispose of waste – trade and domestic, landfill and recyclables. The need to manage impacts of freight movements will be an ongoing activity for the Council.
The Freight Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Identify freight network |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 8. 9 |
Yes |
|
Set up freight forum |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 8. 9 |
Yes |
|
Transhipment Centre |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 8. 9 |
Partially |
|
Freight clean air zone |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 8. 9, 10 |
No |
Whilst the Movement and Place Plan will look in detail at freight movements in York, there are obviously a number of strategy elements which are essential foundations which can be planned, and in some cases delivered, in advance of the Movement and Place plan being implemented.. These include:
· Exploring mechanisms to eliminate through freight movements from the built-up area of York and its villages
· Where freight movements need to access built up areas of York, these take place using the smallest and least polluting vehicles which are practical given the freight being moved
· Freight movements are, as much as possible, kept to the routes best able to handle them
· Obstructions to other traffic by loading vehicles are minimised
· In the city centre environs, as much freight as possible should be carried by cargo cycles and small electric vehicles. This will imply trans-shipment for some freight (transfer from a large vehicle to a small vehicle outside of the city centre).
In the short term we will designate a “freight network” for medium (3.5T) and large (7.5T) vehicles. The Council’s powers to enforce such a network are currently circumscribed and we will take advice as to what is possible and work with bodies such as the Mayoral Combined Authority and central government – to explore the scope for changes to traffic law on this issue. We will also set up a freight forum and invite industry partners and experts to advice and partner with us on developing a freight strategy and network for the city.
We will also continue to enforce loading restrictions where traffic is obstructed and we will explore options for allowing cargo delivery cycles access to the city centre footstreets during footstreet hours.
iTravel will assist in developing freight delivery plans for two major employers in the city.
In 2021 the Council won funding from central government to pilot a transhipment hub for York city centre but this project has proved difficult to deliver to date, partly because of the challenge of attracting a commercial partner. We are actively continuing to seek ways of delivering this project, and are taking advice from other cities where successful similar pilots have been delivered, to explore alternative ways of delivering the scheme and working with commercial partners.
We will investigate the potential for a clean air zone applied to freight vehicles and assess whether this is a scheme that can be delivered in the short term.
In the medium to longer term we intend York to be a city where heavy freight movements in the built up area are limited to those which are essential. We will create an environment where pollution, noise and road wear and tear from freight vehicles is as low as possible, with operators using electric or other low pollution vehicles.
Package 9: Maintenance and Enforcement
York has many kilometres of roads and hundreds of bridges and other highways structures, with the Council typically spending around £10m per year on maintenance. In some years there are also exceptional maintenance items which can be particularly costly and/ or disruptive.
The Maintenance and Enforcement Package: Our Short Term Commitments
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Review maintenance activity |
All |
Yes |
|
Footways improvement programme |
All |
Partially |
|
Staff training in Inclusive Design and LTN1/20 |
1, 2, 3, 5, 6. |
Partially |
|
Moving traffic offences |
All |
Yes |
In the short term we will review the way the Council undertakes its maintenance activity to ensure that it aligns with the readopted hierarchy of transport modes and prioritises resource to support sustainable modes of travel. We will seek capital funding to purchase the appropriate equipment and machinery necessary for maintaining the active travel network, such as a mini-gritter and a narrow road-sweeper capable of accessing segregated cycle infrastructure.
We will seek funding for a footways improvement programme, using our LCWIP to guide where we prioritise our spending, with the aim of developing at least one exemplar key walking route with high quality footways, sufficient dropped kerbs, benches and pedestrian crossings to enable more people to choose to walk and wheel.
,
We will seek funding for a demonstrator exemplar active travel radial route (as described in the Active Travel section).
We will increase the proportion of spend on footways and cycleways and seek higher standards of maintenance on both to reflect the importance of these modes of transport in York. Where appropriate we will use highway maintenance projects as opportunities to improve provision – perhaps by improving a pedestrian crossing, enhancing accessibility or adding facilities for cyclists. Where this is the case we will consider alternative designs for roads and junctions and their costs relative to like-for-like replacement before making a commitment. We will continue to maintain traffic signals and bus priorities in order to keep bus services moving. We will provide staff training for York’s transport engineers to improve skills and knowledge about design for active and sustainable transport modes – in particular around LTN 1/20 compliant design and accessible design.
We will also continue the Council’s traffic enforcement activity. Local authority powers around enforcement are circumscribed, and City of York Council does not currently have the powers to enforce “moving traffic offences” – with these remaining with the Police. Accordingly, we will lobby Government for York to be given powers to enforce moving traffic offences. This will be an important aspect of the Movement and Place Plan. We will also continue to enforce against other obstructions on footways such as A-boards and advertising.
Package 10: Monitoring, evaluations, development and funding
|
Scheme |
PFA |
Funding currently available? |
|
Digital pedestrian and cycle counters |
1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
No |
|
Monitoring and evaluating data |
1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 |
No |
|
Comms support team |
All |
Partially |
Earlier in this document we set a series of targets for York’s new transport strategy. We will collect data and monitor progress against them, evaluating our performance and adjusting our forward plans against targets as we progress.
The majority of our targets rely on data that we already gather. However, some of the targets will require additional equipment or a greater density of measures than we currently collect. In particular we don’t currently collect data on the level of walking across the city. We will seek capital funding to purchase 15 digital pedestrian and cycle counters, to be situated in locations across the city (guided by the information in our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan). We will also seek funding for additional support to assist with monitoring and evaluating all the data against our targets.
Before this plan comes to Executive in November we will make high level assessments of the costs and benefits of the suggested schemes and their ability to enable us to reach our targets.
Transport is subject to external shock – most recently the impacts of the covid pandemic and high fuel prices as a result of the Ukraine – Russia war. We will be conscious of the influence of external factors on transport going forward and will ensure the evaluation of our plans consider these.
Before this plan comes to Executive in November we will collate our baseline data (from the period 2019 to 2024) and compare this with the targets set out in this plan.
As we work our way through the Implementation Plan we will produce an annual statement of progress, listing both key inputs (such as changes in staff resources or spending on transport in York), outputs (such as schemes constructed, routes upgraded, buses electrified etc) and outcomes (such as changes in traffic levels, cycling and walking and bus and train use. A key role for the Monitoring Report will be to evaluate progress against each of our policies and assess the effectiveness of the various pilot schemes outlined in this Plan. By assessing these schemes we will reach judgements about whether they have successfully achieved the objectives set for them and – consequently – whether the pilot schemes should be abandoned, adapted, continued and/or expanded to other areas.
Once the Movement and Place Plan is drawn up we will update our Implementation Plan and start to incorporate the necessary schemes required to support the Movement and Place Plan. This Plan enables us to put in place the foundations for the Movement and Place plan and, funding and resource permitting, the majority of the schemes in this plan will be completed or well underway by the end of 2026. We are hopeful that there will be greater clarity about the availability of funding for transport investment by this point, and in particular the powers which will be available to both City of York Council and the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
An early priority will be to assess the funding requirements of the Implementation Plan and to acquire advice on future funding of transport projects in York. In practical terms this cannot commence until after the Comprehensive Spending Review at the end of October as this is likely to set out the government’s financial strategy for the remains of the current Parliament. However, the city is not entirely reliant on central government funding or funding devolved to the MCA, so the review will also consider other ways of funding, including fiscal measures such as tourist taxes, reallocation within our own council budget, changes to parking fees and charges, clean air zones and funding from new property development.
Finally, we recognise that communications are a vital element of implementing our transport strategy. We will seek funding to engage a team dedicated to supporting the transport strategy who can assist with writing funding bids, devising and managing consultation and engagement activities to enable co-development of our schemes, and produce material to promote opportunities and keep residents, businesses, organisation and visitors up to date with travel news.