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19
Apr 2023
New crossing on Harrogate's Wetherby Road 'on track' to be installed this year
A new crossing on Wetherby Road in Harrogate is “still on track” to be installed this financial year, say council officials.
North Yorkshire Council has proposed the crossing to encourage walking and cycling at the junction with Slingsby Walk.
The plan was first revealed in December and officials now say the scheme is in “the design stage”.
It will be the fourth set of lights in less than a mile between the Empress roundabout and the Woodlands junction, which is already one of the most congested stretches of road around Harrogate.
Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the authority, who approved the crossing last December, said the scheme was still on course to be installed this year.
He said:
Council officials have estimated the crossing could double the number of cyclists using the Slingsby Walk route, which runs alongside the Stray.
Read more:
- Wetherby Road crossing ‘likely to cause further delays’ for Harrogate drivers
- Council plans new crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road
However, officers at the authority also admitted the crossing is likely to cause further delays for drivers.
In a report outlining the proposal, Barrie Mason, assistant director for highways and transportation at the council, accepted the move would likely increase pressure on the road network.
He added there were also officer concerns over “existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road”.
However, he said these concerns had to be balanced against the benefit that it would offer to pedestrians and cyclists.
Funding of £75,000 for the crossing was secured from the former Harrogate Borough Council sustainable transport budget last year.
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