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31
Oct
Harrogate cyclist crossings divide opinion as starting date set for second scheme
The wheels are in motion to create another pedestrian and cyclist crossing in Harrogate – but not without opposition.
North Yorkshire Council last year approved a £230,000 road safety package that included two new road crossings for Slingsby Walk – one of the areas of the Stray where cycling is permitted.
A toucan crossing at the Wetherby Road junction with Slingsby Walk was this week welcomed by cyclists.
The second scheme — a parallel crossing at the Oatlands Drive junction with Slingsby Walk — has been slower to progress.
But the council this week confirmed to the Stray Ferret work to create the £150,000 crossing, also known as a tiger crossing, will start on February 14, 2026.
It will consist of a zebra crossing with segregated zones for cyclists and pedestrians, and is named after similar crossings in Hong Kong, which are painted yellow and black.
Malcolm Margolis, of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said a crossing at Oatlands Drive has been a “longstanding priority” for the cycling campaign group.
Welcoming the update, Mr Margolis told the Stray Ferret:
We're pleased that work is scheduled to start on a parallel crossing of Oatlands Drive in February 2026.
It will improve the existing Slingsby Walk route for people on foot and on bikes. This is especially important as it is much used by schoolchildren.
Of course, Slingsby Walk is just one cycling route, and Harrogate needs a network of joined-up routes if cycling is to become a realistic option for everyone from 8 to 80 years old to get around town. There's lots more work to do.
A layout of the plans for a crossing on Oatlands Drive.
'People do not realise what they have until it's gone'
But the Stray Defence Association, which works to protect the 200-acre land from encroachment, has objected to the scheme since its inception because it requires the loss of Stray land.
The group’s chairman, Judy d’Arcy Thompson, today (October 31) told the Stray Ferret:
When no one has any money, like North Yorkshire Council says, it seems a little bit unnecessary.
On safety grounds, anything that protects children I would be all for, but as there is an existing crossing nearby that gets people across the road safely, I don’t see the need for it.
Ms d’Arcy Thompson, who stressed she was “not anti-cyclist”, also raised concerns over the potential environmental impacts of the crossing. She said:
I’m really quite worried about the amount of tarmac used [at Wetherby Road junction], it is absolutely ludicrous.
There is also a tree near the corner [of the Oatlands Drive/Slingsby Walk junction] … if they are going to do the same thing on Oatlands Drive [as Wetherby Road] they would have to take the tree down, which would be appalling.
The new crossing at Wetherby Road junction with Slingsby Walk.
The crossing feeds onto Slingsby Walk and the Stray.
Both crossings require Stray land to be enclosed and therefore the council must dedicate land to the Duchy of Lancaster, which owns the freehold of the Stray, in exchange before work can commence.
Grass land on Hookstone Drive has been earmarked for this purpose.
Ms d’Arcy Thompson said people “do not realise what they have until it’s gone” and stressed the mental and physical benefits of the Stray. She added:
The Stray is so hugely significant because we are being told more and more about the impact of green space on mental and physical wellbeing.
If we weren’t looking after it and making sure the Stray isn’t used and abused, would it be here in 10 years’ time?
Nobody wants anything that would harm anyone and safety is key, but I don’t feel [Oatlands Drive crossing] is absolutely necessary.
The scheme is being funded by the council’s 2025/26 highways capital programme.
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