Agenda and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Members were asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.  None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 2 March 2010.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the meeting of 2 March 2010 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is Friday 9 April 2010 at 5.00 pm.

There were no registrations to speak under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents Members with information received to date regarding CYC Winter Gritting Policy.

Members received an Interim Report on City of York Council Winter Gritting Policy.

Members focussed on the following objectives:

• Review of current policy in regard to cycle ways
• Review of current policy in regard to council funded salt bins

Cycle Paths

Councillor D’Agorne, in his role as Cycling Champion, expressed concern that the current policy did not give sufficient priority to off-road cycle ways.  As a cycling city, this was an issue that needed to be addressed.  Discussions should take place with Sustrans and other parties in order to improve the situation. It was also important that consideration was given to ways of addressing the problems in respect of Millennium Bridge.  Whilst it may be inappropriate to use salt, other European countries had found alternative materials that could be used in these circumstances.  Managing people’s expectations and ensuring that cyclists were given the same detail of information as motorists was another factor to be considered.

Officers gave details of the current arrangements that were in place in respect of cycle routes and circulated information regarding a new machine that had recently been purchased for the maintenance of off-road cycle ways.  

Details were given of the issues in respect of the maintenance of Millennium Bridge, as outlined in paragraphs 12 to 14 of the report.  It was noted that when the bridge had been commissioned it had been designated as an ancillary route and it had been understood that the materials used were corrosive.  Officers advised that it was important that the protective covering lasted as long as possible, as the cost of repainting the bridge would be substantial.  As the bridge was designated for pedestrians, it was not possible to use vehicles on the bridge to clear the snow as this posed the risk of structural damage.

Members commented on the following issues in respect of the treatment of cycle ways:

• Concerns were expressed that to improve the clearing of cycle ways would necessitate the diverting of resources away from other areas which may be more of a priority.
• Even if the cycle ways were safe to use, cyclists could find difficulty in travelling safely to them.
• The priority for clearing cycle ways should continue to be to clear those which were used by commuters travelling to work rather than those which were primarily used for leisure purposes.
• In some circumstances there may not be alternative modes of transport – for example bus services may not be available for people who started work early.
• York had been designated as a Cycling City and hence it was important that the issue of ensuring that cycle ways could be used in adverse weather conditions was tackled.  It was important to continue to persuade people to use alternatives to travelling by car.

The Travel Co-ordinator from York Hospital circulated responses that had been received from hospital staff arising from consultation on the current policy in regard to cycle ways (attached as an minute annex).  The general view was that the council had carried  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.