North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways Don Mackenzie says cycling groups must “remain realistic” around improvements to cycling routes in Harrogate.
His words come as the council received just half of the £266,000 that was allocated to them by government to spend on temporary cycling and walking measures. These include coning off some on-street parking bays to widen footpaths.
NYCC will be able to bid for a further £1.1m for larger cycling schemes later this summer but they have been criticised by cycling groups in Harrogate for showing a “lack of ambition” with its initial bid. They also said North Yorkshire did not consult them about the bid.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Mackenzie said the council is taking a long-term approach to cycle lanes.
He said:
“I’m sure we’ll get more cycle schemes in there. People will have to remain realistic. It costs a million pounds to build 1km of off-road cycle path. We’re only bidding £1.1m for the whole of the county.”
He also said that more road space in Harrogate could be allocated to cycling and walking through the positioning of bollards, which has proved controversial for businesses operating on James Street and West Park.
Whilst Cllr Mackenzie suggested that North Yorkshire received less funding for cycling because of its largely rural geography, other councils such as Suffolk, which also has a large rural population, received 100%. However, Cllr Mackenzie said this type of comparison is unfair.
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He said:
“The nearest county to us is Lincolnshire and they got 50%. Suffolk got 100% but I don’t know what their bid was like.
“We’ve made many bids for cycling. We’re building an off-road cycle path on Otley Road, we’ve applied for the Transforming Cities Funding which involves a lot of improvements for cycling. Sometimes you get 100% and sometimes you don’t.
Yesterday, the Stray Ferret reported that 26 cyclists are injured in collisions in Harrogate a year.
Cllr Mackenzie added:
“Harrogate is very, very safe for cyclists but if you saw some of the comments on social media you’d think it was an absolute deathtrap.