Agenda item
Have Your Say
Your opportunity to discuss local issues and concerns with your ward councillors.
Minutes:
The Have Your Say section of the meeting gave residents a chance to voice their concerns about any issues in the ward.
Q: Is the 8th of May the final cut-off for the Sustainable Communities Act suggestions? Is it a one-off consultation?
A: It is probably not a one-off, but it is not yet known when the next date will be. This will be set by the Secretary of State. Zoe Burns expected they are planning to wait to see what suggestions come out of communities before they decide how to take it forward and so to some extent, yes May 8th is the final deadline for this consultation.
Pauline Buchanan stood to give a brief update on the St. Clements Hall preservation Trust. It is good news; the tenders for the work have gone out and work should start next month and be finished in six months’ time.
Q: What are Cycle City’s plans for Blossom Street? How is it intended for cycle lanes to be put in South Parade? I am concerned that they will be put in place of the car parking spaces, but this would encourage more fly parking.
A: Cllr Merrett said that the council were looking at the Blossom Street lane layout and were considering reducing the number of lanes on the incoming flow of traffic from three to two; merging the Bar lane with the Nunnery Lane lane. This should give enough space for buses turning left and two inbound cycle lanes. This is his understanding of the original intention and it might not be fully up to date. The priority now is to look for an off-road cycle route around the back, possibly through Victoria Bar.
As regards parking, most of Blossom Street is double-yellow-lined and so most parking is illegal anyway.
Q: On Nunnery Lane the road is exactly the same width as lorries and buses, so there is not enough width for a cycle lane. I hope any changes take this in to account.
A: Unfortunately this is an impossible situation, due to the narrowness of the road. This is a frequent problem in York. The standard width of a cycle lane is 1.5m in England, and only one in York, in Clifton Green, meets that requirement. Sometimes the elimination of one traffic lane in a two-lane road can be considered, but this has other effects on traffic flow and congestion, which also affects cyclist safety. Unfortunately we have to compromise.
Q: Will there be increased signage, like in Nunnery Lane car park, to encourage people to visit traders in Micklegate?
A: The sign was purchased with help from the Street Environment Officer to help direct visitors to town through Micklegate. The councillors have tried to get one to direct people to turn right when they come out of the station. However, National Express were not very helpful and declared we would have to pay advertising rates which are very expensive. The alternatives we looked at have planning permission problems, because of the proximity to the walls. There is a also a sign on the wall of Splash palace in Parliament Street to direct people who have already visited the centre out of town down Ousegate and Micklegate.
The suggestion of putting an electronic indicator in the Park and Ride buses to indicate Micklegate as a stop to get off, is to be piloted in the near future.
Work on the Odeon Cinema on Blossom Street has started at last. The councillors are aiming to have this area tidied up as well and they want to get this message out to the Micklegate traders.
Cllr Merrett commented that one issue indicated by traders is the difficulty of the crossing at the end of Micklegate. The councillors are concerned about whether the Queen Street junction plans will address this.
Cllr Gunnell closed the meeting by reminding residents to place their votes for the Bishopthorpe Road/Scarcroft Road Arts Project and encouraging them to fill in the feedback forms provided on the chairs. Thanks were given to all the speakers and the residents for attending the meeting.