Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Cabinet Member is asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which he may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting the Cabinet Member was asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which he may have in respect of business on the agenda.  The Cabinet Member declared a personal non-prejudicial interest as an honorary member of the Cyclists Touring Club and a York Cycle Campaign member.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th January 2014.

Resolved:           That the minutes of the last Decision Session held on 16 January 2014 be approved and signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme and that one Council Member had also registered to speak.

Mr Hepworth spoke in respect of agenda item 4 – “A64 Memorandum of Understanding”.  He stated that he represented Cyclists Touring Club North Yorkshire on a group that was promoting cycling in the Ryedale District Council area.  One of the issues that was being considered was a National Cycle Network route from York to Malton with a continuation to Pickering.  Mr Hepworth expressed concern that the Draft Memorandum did not give any assurances about mitigating the effects of upgrade work upon any A64 crossing points, which may be well used by non-motorised travellers, and he requested that this issue be taken into account.

Councillor Levene, as ward councillor, spoke in respect of agenda item 5 – “University Road Cycle Route and Crossing Improvement Scheme”.  He stated that he welcomed the fact that improvements were to be made but requested that further consideration be given to aspects of the design, as he was concerned that some of the proposed crossing routes were counter intuitive.  He detailed suggested changes.  Councillor Levene also sought assurances regarding the proposed pedestrian/cycle route (annex C of the report).

This report informs the Cabinet Member of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for effective co-operation to enable the development of a long term programme of improvements for the A64 East of York. The Cabinet Member is recommended to sign, on behalf of the Council, the Memorandum of Understanding on the A64.

Resolved:           That Option 2 be approved and the Memorandum of Association be signed subject to the agreed amendments, including the need to ensure that mention was made of junctions as well as roads, and that the design work included consideration of the need for appropriate pedestrian and cycle crossing routes.

Reason:              To ensure any points of clarification are included in the Memorandum of Understanding for the A64 Trunk Road York – Scarborough Improvement Strategy, signed by representatives of all parties, to be in place to support the submission of the Full Strategic Economic Partnership to Government by the March 2014 deadline.

The Cabinet Member considered a report that presented a proposed Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for effective co-operation to enable the development of a long term programme of improvements for the A64 East of York.  The Cabinet Member was asked to consider signing the Memorandum on behalf of the Council.

The Cabinet Member requested that reference be made in the Memorandum of Understanding to:

·        Junctions and slip roads

·        The inclusion of Hopgrove Roundabout

·        The need for safe crossing points for cyclists and pedestrians

Amendments were agreed to the wording of paragraphs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 4.1 and 6.1 (4^th bullet) through the inclusion of footnotes as appropriate. 

Officers confirmed that discussions with officers at the authorities that had already “signed-up” to the Memorandum of Understanding had indicated that minor changes or clarifications would not require reconsideration of the Memorandum by their respective authorities.

Resolved:           That Option 2 be approved and the Memorandum of Association be signed subject to the agreed amendments, including the need to ensure that mention was made of junctions as well as roads, and that the design work included consideration of the need for appropriate pedestrian and cycle crossing routes.

Reason:              To ensure any points of clarification are included in the Memorandum of Understanding for the A64 Trunk Road York – Scarborough Improvement Strategy, signed by representatives of all parties, to be in place to support the submission of the Full Strategic Economic Partnership to Government by the March 2014 deadline.

This report outlines proposals to create crossing improvements and bus stop relocation on University Road in the vicinity of Market Square, which incorporates a 20mph Zone with speed cushions and speed table crossing points. The report will seek in-principle approval to implement the proposals, authorisation to consult on a preferred option layout, and to advertise a 20mph Speed Limit Order for the proposed 20mph Zone. The report will also outline a longer term plan to create an off-road shared use pedestrian/cycle route alongside University Road between Green Dykes Lane and Innovation Way, and how this is affected by the proposed pedestrian crossing improvement scheme.

Resolved:            (i)      That in-principle approval be given for the scheme proposals, as shown in annexes A and B of the report, subject to further discussions regarding the second entrance onto the spiral ramp and a more direct access from the bus stop.

(ii)      That approval be given to enter into a ‘Heads of Terms’ agreement between the City of York and the University of York, as shown in Annex D of the report.

(iii)     That an external consultation exercise be conducted on the scheme proposals, as shown in Annexes A and B of the report, including the advertisement of the 20mph Speed Limit Order.

(iv)    That the consultation exercise also include the cycle route scheme (Annex C of the report), subject to the jughandle alteration. 

Reason:              To improve pedestrian safety in University Road.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which outlined proposals to create crossing improvements and bus stop relocation on University Road in the vicinity of Market Square.  The proposals incorporated a 20mph zone with speed cushions and speed table crossing points. The report sought in principle approval to implement the proposals, authorisation to consult on a preferred option lay-out and to advertise a 20mph Speed Limit Order for the proposed 20mph zone.

Consideration was given to issues that had been raised regarding access onto the spiral ramp and the need to look at providing a more direct access from the bus stop.  The Cabinet Member requested that further discussions take place with the university regarding these issues.

The Cabinet Member, referring to Annex C of the report, stated that it would be appropriate to consult on the proposed pedestrian/cycle route at the same time as the consultation on the other proposals, subject to an amendment to the plan to replace the marked out central right turn area in Innovation Way by an alternative off road “jughandle” right turn facility and the disclaimer that this would be subject to funding being available.  

Resolved:            (i)      That in-principle approval be given for the scheme proposals, as shown in annexes A and B of the report, subject to further discussions regarding the second entrance onto the spiral ramp and a more direct access from the bus stop.

(ii)      That approval be given to enter into a ‘Heads of Terms’ agreement between the City of York and the University of York, as shown in Annex D of the report.

(iii)     That an external consultation exercise be conducted on the scheme proposals, as shown in Annexes A and B of the report, including the advertisement of the 20mph Speed Limit Order.

(iv)    That the consultation exercise also include the cycle route scheme (Annex C of the report), subject to amending the plan to replace the marked out central right turn area in Innovation Way by an alternative off road “jughandle” right turn facility.  

Reason:              To improve pedestrian and cyclist safety on University Road.