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23
Feb 2023
Harrogate cycling group: 'We need delivery, not just bids'
A Harrogate cycling group has said North Yorkshire County Council needs to "deliver" cycling schemes after years of promises.
The council revealed yesterday it planned to bid for £3.19 million to help fund projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Both schemes — on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough — were previously announced in 2020.
Now the council needs to await the outcome of its bid to tranche four of the Department for Transport’s active travel fund before knowing if either initiative can go ahead.
It follows the council's decision to abandon phase two of the Otley Road cycle route in Harrogate and the closure of nearby Beech Grove to through traffic, as well as ongoing uncertainty over whether the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway will go ahead.
The Otley Road cycle route
The initiatives were part of a wider ambition to create a linked off-road cycle route from Cardale Park to Harrogate train station.
Plans to improve cycling on Oatlands Drive were also shelved.
Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycling Action, said:
Read more:
- Council bids for £3m for cycling projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Cycling group questions commitment to active travel in Harrogate district
Mr Douglas described as "slightly embarrassing" yesterday's comments by Councillor Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways at the council, that the latest bid was "another significant milestone in our efforts to deliver a more balanced approach to travel in the county".
Mr Douglas said the only new active travel scheme had been the first phase of the Otley Road cycle route, which he said remained incomplete and unsafe, adding:
Victoria Avenue, which is the council's priority scheme, would see improvements to public spaces, pedestrian crossings and segregated cycleways. Parking spaces would be removed.
A decision on bids submitted for the active travel fund is expected from the government on March 17.
Construction must begin on successful projects before March 31, 2024.
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