Just a month after it was told to “get its act together” and “step up its game” when it comes to cycling infrastructure, after a series of abandoned and much-criticised projects, North Yorkshire Council has this week decided to ignore that advice by scrapping plans to install protected, 1.5m-wide cycle lanes on Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue.
Yesterday, the council announced it was holding a month-long consultation on proposed changes to the wide avenue, which will begin in the autumn and include a new bus stop, improved pedestrian crossings, measures to prevent motorists from illegally driving straight ahead at a junction, the removal of some parking bays, and public realm improvements, the Stray Ferret reports.
However, despite the council last year identifying Victoria Avenue as a “priority route” for cyclists and announcing that it intended to install protected cycle lanes with buffer zones on both sides of the road, the new plans include no reference whatsoever to cycling infrastructure of any kind – a glaring omission the local authority has put down to “budgetary constraints”.
> Councillors urge Tory-led council to “get its act together so people can get out of cars” after series of “failed and abandoned” cycling schemes
“Unfortunately budgetary constraints mean that the previously envisaged cycle lanes cannot be included within this initial phase of this Victoria Avenue scheme,” a council letter to residents announcing the consultation said.
“Following advice from Active Travel England, we have therefore concentrated on improvements for pedestrians and improvements to the public realm.”
Active Travel England awarded North Yorkshire Council funding for the Victoria Avenue scheme in November 2020, with the road regarded as a crucial part of plans to create a joined-up, off-road cycling route from Harrogate’s train and bus stations to Cardale Park.
> Campaigners accuse council of “failing our children” after failing to deliver “significant cycling infrastructure for nine years”
However, since then, the Conservative-controlled council has come under fire due to its failure to implement safe cycling infrastructure in the town, after phase two of the widely criticised Otley Road cycleway was scrapped, along with a Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove and a one-way system on Oatlands Drive – prompting Harrogate District Cycle Action to accuse the local authority of “failing our children” and failing to deliver any “significant cycling infrastructure for nine years”.
Last month, we reported that opposition councillors also took aim at the council’s apparently shoddy cycling record.
“To improve things you have to acknowledge there’s a problem. Active travel is absolutely terrible,” Liberal Democrat councillor Matt Walker said at a council meeting.
“Roads are gridlocked and full of potholes, buses are missed all the time between Harrogate and Knaresborough. We have to make improvements and the council needs to step its game up.
“It needs to get its act together so people can get out of cars and get around in a quick and environmentally-friendly way.”
Green councillor Arnold Warneken: “The frustration of people who want to cycle in Harrogate and Knaresborough isn’t being taken seriously.”
> Council scraps £500,000 Harrogate cycle lane expansions… even though majority support plans
However, in its letter to residents yesterday, North Yorkshire Council said it is still committed to delivering some kind of cycling infrastructure on Victoria Avenue.
“The works proposed support North Yorkshire Council’s desire and vision to increase active travel in and around Harrogate town centre by proposing a number of measures to increase pedestrian safety as well as improved bus provision,” the letter said.
“Whilst unfortunately is it not possible to include the desired cycle lanes within this proposed scheme, the proposed works will not prevent the installation of the cycle lanes in the future, and this will be the ambition within a future funding bid. North Yorkshire Council is committed to delivering a cycle scheme on Victoria Avenue.”
To be honest, I’m not sure cyclists in Harrogate are holding their breath…
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“Unfortunately budgetary constraints mean that the previously envisaged cycle lanes cannot be included within this initial phase of this Victoria Avenue scheme,”
Because we all know that it's cheaper to make changes afterwards...
Not cycling, but… https://www.bristol247.com/sport/cricket/video-cricket-pedestrianised-st...
https://www.sciencealert.com/study-links-preference-for-loud-cars-to-some-unsurprising-personality-traits
The concluding line is depressing even if the rest of the article isn't too surprising.
Re Harrogate, what else do you expect? The Government have cut the level of support to councils year on year, mainly for political reasons, so that the Labour run councils (mainly big cities) can be pointed at when they collapse and labelled "incompetent", unfortuantely an ebbing tide strands all boats, and Tory councils are suffering as well. Bearing in mind the damage done to the Economy by austerity and Liz Truss, the fact that Brexit is going to harm our ability to recover for decades ahead, then the monies for this type of projet will be cut.
As my father said before he passed away in the early 2000's, "I've never voted Tory, you just can't trust the b*stards".
As much as I'd like to join you on this soap box the Active Travel funding is ring fenced afaik.
Thats not to say what you have said it not true, its just got very little to do with chosing to not build a cycle lane.
Thank you for the clarification.
Or in some cases, like my council (Croydon) the Labour people were clearly incompetent. The one problem I have with people moaning about cuts is that would be fine if the Tories were cutting taxes left, right and centre. Instead we have a record highest tax burden, yet everything is apparently underfunded. My first question to people is where exactly should the money be diverted from? If so, which party will actually do that? Personally I think they are all as bad as each other.
Sadly money that does get spent is often wasted. In my local area there was a stretch of cycle lane created through part of the shopping area. It is literally 100-200m long, but apparently cost £200k (according to a friend working in the council) and is worse than what was there before.
One thing we could do is rejoin the European single market, and increase our GDP by around 5%.
I'm not attracted to the 'they're all as bad as each other' argument.
It isn't true in any other sphere - hairdressers, tennis coaches, accountants, for example - so why would it be true of politicians.
Mr Sunak does not support active travel, and after the Uxbridge byelection he calculated that there were votes in cutting funding and political support for it.
In my view, Labour are more committed to reducing greenhouse gases from transport, and that will have to include modal shift to active travel.
Michelle Mone.
Dido Harding
HS2
Infosys
Etc...
I'm certain "it's more complex that this" but "paying the interest on our debt" I think. And from the little I understand (and each party will give a different story) that's: "we finally paid off WW1 (2016?) (and WW2 2006?)" then 2008 banking crisis +
Labour's wild spending+Brexit+Debts due to lack of "preventative medicine" because austerity+ Covid + Ukraine war +Liz Truss / Kwasi Kwarteng's fling with "bringing down the deep state"https://www.statista.com/statistics/282841/debt-as-gdp-uk/
Don't trust me though - here's the briefing from the commons library.
It's all choices and more or less subjective judgements. Even when some criteria for measuring "good use of money" are put in people are going to disagree massively on those.
While everyone seems clear on the good parts of automobility the economic case (at least for mass motoring) is looking increasingly shaky, whereas there is growing evidence that boosting active travel is a great return on money invested [1] [2] [3].
The problem is that cycling tends to save money and generate small, local sums - unlike more expensive / centralised industries like power and motor vehicle industries. It's big bung theory - you can make far more happen for you with a big concentration of money...
The Victoria Avenue scheme is paid for by Active Travel Fund 2 - more than £1 million won by North Yorkshire in 2020 for 4 cycle infrastructure schemes.
None of those schemes have been delivered.
Ways to make the money disappear:
In this case, it is largely the fault of the council.
It is true that Sunak has cut active travel funding, so that won't help in future.
Whether it is worth awarding active travel funding to North Yorkshire Council at all is another question.