Agenda item

A panel of experts from various City of York Council (CYC) departments and other organisations will outline the kind of services they deliver in Heworth Ward before opening up the meeting for questions and debate with you. This is your chance to have your questions answered and put forward your views on what works and what could be improved.

1. Panel Introductions

The following representatives formed a panel of experts regarding transport and travel in Heworth:

• Inspector Alisdair Dey, Safer Neighbourhood Team
• David Carter, Head of Network Management, CYC
• Andrew Bradley, Transport Planning, CYC
• Keith Landale, Route Manager, First York Buses
• Gillian Chefrad, School Travel Plan Co-ordinator, CYC
• Louise Robinson, School Travel Planning, CYC
• Andy Vose, Transport Planner, Cycle City, CYC

Each gave a brief introduction to their area of work, as related to transport.

2. Debate

2.1 The residents were invited to put their questions to the panel.

• 2.1.1  Q: Andrew Taylor - The signage indicating direction of travel on a cycle path which is shared with a footpath needs to be made clear.  Someone was prosecuted for cycling the wrong way on the cycle path.

• A: Andy Vose – Yes, the signage is quite bad in places.  Unfortunately we have to go to the department of Transport to get permission for any non-standard signage, which can take 6 months. However, this is no excuse.  This year we have a budget of £35,000 for new cycle routes in York, so we can pick up these kinds of issues this year. If people give details of particular spots which need improvement we can look into these.

• Comment: Gareth Foster (resident) – There needs to be Give Way signs at junctions where cyclists often ignore the priorities and either risk causing a collision with pedestrians or pull out in front of cars.

• 2.1.2  Q: Mrs Breeds - Why has the number 13 bus stopped coming down that route?

• A: Keith Landale - This route was discussed about 6 months ago and it was considered to be not financially viable, so unfortunately that is why it has been scrapped.  The company needs to look after future business.

• Q: Mrs Breeds – Now many pensioners who have no other mode of transport find it difficult to get around – particularly to Monks Cross

• A: Keith Landale – I understand your concerns and am sorry for the situation. Unfortunately we just cannot run a route if there is not enough demand.

• Andrew Bradley –

• Q: Mrs Breeds - We still have to go all the way around the route to get back.

• A: Andrew Bradley – No, it is a circular route but it goes both ways round so you don’t have to do that.

• Cllr Funnell assured residents that those who wanted a new timetable for the service could request one with Andrew by leaving their name and address details at the end of the meeting.

• 2.1.3  Q: Stewart Elliot – There is a strong concern of illegal parking and the illegal use of the one-way system on Dale’s Lane.  This is a regular occurrence. I have been in touch with a PCSO, Simon Hall, who has been looking in to it, but I have also mentioned this in the past to the councillors and nothing seems to be being done about it.  I would like to know what the council is doing to address the problem and when it will be dealt with.

• A: Insp. Dey – This sounds like an enforcement issue and therefore it should be relatively straightforward to sort out. 

• Q: Stewart Elliot – This is not a new issue, it has been ongoing for 7 years.  The PSCO has been aware for 3 – 4 months.

• A: Insp. Dey assured Mr Elliot that something will be done to address it and PC Wright took the details.

• A: David Carter – The council has full-time staff in enforcement, but the level of the problem in York still is in excess of the resources available. Even so, we can do ‘hits’ in particular problem areas to try to discourage people from continuing to park illegally.

• It was also mentioned that there was no where for lorries to park up to unload at the shops, and this caused a lot of the illegal parking problems.

• 2.1.4  Q: Gareth Foster – There is no consistency with bus routes; they are changing all the time.  There is a problem on bus route 11 with parked cars on 4^th Avenue. There is no marked boxing for the bus, and parked cars mean the bus finds it difficult to get through.

• A: Andrew Bradley – This is the first time it has been mentioned that there is a problem with route 11.  The current issues with the buses seem to be as a result of the number of services falling from three to two.

• Comment: A resident suggested adding to the number 9 Park and Ride route.

• A: Andrew Bradley -  We cannot do this because it is an express service.  The Park and Ride does not cost CYC or the taxpayer anything. 

• Andrew also mentioned that it was not all bad news, as from the 10^th May the frequency of the Coastliner service is doubling.

• Cllr Funnell suggested printing all local bus timetable and route details in the July Your Ward and the residents agreed that this would be very helpful.

• 2.1.5  Q: Albert Lawrence – Requested that Keith Landale explain why the number 11 stops on Ashley Park bridge, three stops in to the route, for about 20 – 25 minutes.  This is not the terminus of the route and it is not a good position to stop – firstly, because it is on a bridge which could be weak, and secondly because it is dangerous for traffic coming around the corner.

• A: Keith agreed to talk to the resident about these concerns after the meeting.

• 2.1.6  Q:  Helen Munzer – There is not enough room to fit a child bicycle trailer through where the cycle path joins by the church on Melrosegate.  Also the ridges on the cycle path/footpath are very troublesome for pushing a pram over them.  Another resident commented that the ridges on the cycle path do not correspond to the direction of travel and this often throws the bicycle wheel off course.

• A: Andy Vose – The ridges are adopted as national standard as we are governed by national guidelines on this.  There are some areas in York where we have used the ‘wrong’ surface, but this has been addressed and hopefully most have been replaced.

• The resident also suggested using a city-wide bicycle pool scheme like ones common in Scandinavian cities.

• 2.1.7 Q: Barry Bothamley – There is a high volume of lorries in Wigginton Road.  Is it likely that this could be made a cycle route priority?

• A: Andy Vose – It depends on our budget, as it is expensive.  It is a long-term aspiration for us to have a route from Nestle all the way to Muncaster.  We are also looking at Wigginton Road as a bus route priority.

• Cllr Funnell mentioned that perhaps the problem of lack of demand for bus services was a result of the increasing prices, and closed this part of the meeting.