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26
Dec 2021
New data reveals dramatic impact of Beech Grove closure on nearby roads
New data has revealed the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood has had a dramatic impact on traffic on nearby roads — but the number of cyclists using it remains around three an hour.
North Yorkshire County Council closed the Harrogate road, which connects the A61 and Otley Road, to through traffic in February, initially for a six-month trial. It later extended the trial to 18 months.
The move aimed to reduce traffic and encourage cycling and walking on the road, which runs alongside the Stray. Beech Grove was chosen because it would connect to other planned cycle schemes in the town.
But some residents and motorists were angered by the sudden loss of the thoroughfare and said it would just push traffic elsewhere.
The council has released new data about the controversial LTN following a freedom of information request from the Stray Ferret. The council's press office had refused to provide the information, saying it wanted to wait until the trial had ended.
The council also provided a letter sent in October to residents living close to the LTN. The letter includes data that reveals road traffic has reduced on Beech Grove by as much as 85% since the closure.
The council compared current data with a traffic count on the road undertaken in 2015 that found, on average, 2,712 vehicles a day used its mid-point.
Displaced traffic
The data addresses the question of whether the closure has pushed traffic onto nearby roads.
An automatic traffic counter on Victoria Road found there has been a 230% increase in vehicles using the northern section since the LTN was introduced. In February, 300 vehicles a day used the road. The number increased to 1,058 a day in April then fell slightly in subsequent months.
Information by North Yorkshire County Council. AADT stands for annual average daily traffic.
Queens Road has also seen the number of vehicles using it double from around 500 to over 1,000 a day.
However, in the letter sent to residents the council disputed claims that Cold Bath Road has born the brunt of displaced traffic from the LTN. It said its traffic counter found "no evidence" to support the suggestion that traffic levels have increased.
It said around 8,500 vehicles used Cold Bath Road a day pre-covid 2019 and the number had fallen to 7,200 in 2021. However, it added the the latest numbers from August this year suggested traffic had now returned to pre-covid levels.
Read more:
- Beech Grove closure officially extended until August 2022
- Beech Grove closure to remain in place, despite petition objecting
‘It’s working well’: Campaigner counts cyclists using Harrogate’s Beech Grove
The number of cyclists using the Beech Grove LTN remains between two to three an hour, although the number increased in November.
North Yorkshire County Council does not record what time of day cyclists use the road and only has the figures for a 24-hour period.
In August 2020, before the LTN was introduced, around 50 cyclists used the road each day. This has stayed broadly the same throughout 2021.
Council officers believe the automatic traffic count numbers are "light" compared to casual observations they have made when visiting the LTN. The council said it planned to conduct manual surveys on this.
In August, the Stray Ferret joined cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis, who spent an hour counting cyclists using the LTN on a sunny September afternoon. He counted 21.
Information by North Yorkshire County Council
Conservative county councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:
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