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20
Jan
11 cycle schemes mooted for Knaresborough
A consultation is to be carried out on 11 cycling schemes in Knaresborough.
North Yorkshire Council has drawn up a list of ‘proposed cycle priorities’ that it hopes to prgress.
They include projects on the A59 Harrogate Road, the A59 River Nidd bridge, Aspin Lane and Chain Lane. The full list is available here in a council report that will be discussed at a meeting on Friday.
However, there is no funding and no guarantee any will be taken forward, and a local cycling group has questioned whether any will come to fruition.
The council commissioned consultants WSP to develop a Harrogate cycling infrastructure plan in 2017.
The plan was supposed to act as a blueprint, outlining priority schemes and guiding funding bids but none of the projects has come to fruition.
Nevertheless, the council agreed in February last year to commission the consultants to expand the scope of their work by looking at specific schemes in Knaresborough.
They have now identified 11 initiatives and said whether each one could be delivered in the short, medium or long-term and at low, medium or high cost.
The council is expected to approve consulting with stakeholders at Friday’s meeting.
‘No confidence any schemes will be delivered’
A spokesperson for Harrogate District Cycle Action said it was good to strategically plan cycle routes but added:
Unfortunately, over the last 10 years every worthwhile North Yorkshire cycling scheme has ground to a halt before being delivered.
The Harrogate and Knaresborough cycling infrastructure plan was completed in 2019, but in the years since then none of the routes in it have been delivered.
Local cycling and walking infrastructure plans should influence transport arrangements at new developments, but the Harrogate and Knaresborough LCWIP has been largely ignored in plans for the West Harrogate urban expansion.
The spokesperson added the cycling group “agreed a list of quick wins with North Yorkshire Council officers” but none were progressed. They said:
The prioritisation work discussed in these reports is only of value if it leads to on-the-ground improvements. It is the responsibility of the council executive to ensure this happens.
Based on North Yorkshire Council's track record, we have no confidence that any of the schemes will be delivered. We would be happy to be proved wrong about this.
'No ambition to reduce congestion'
Councillor Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough West on the council, also doubted any of the scheme would be progressed.
He said:
Unless the council has any money to invest then these schemes will never happen. The council has a huge black hole in its finances next year. The council also has a terrible success rate in bids from government and its departments. There is still no progress on the 300-metre missing link between Knaresborough and Starbeck on the A59.
The council has no ambition to reduce congestion and get people out of their cars. This was clear demonstration in the recent icy and cold weather where people couldn't walk on path because they were fearful of slipping and breaking something.
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