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14
Dec
Harrogate to get 'crazy' 36-metre long bus lane
A bus lane just 36 metres long looks set to be created in Harrogate as part of the £12.1 million Station Gateway scheme.
The lane, which would go on a section of lower Station Parade, would be the length of just three average single-decker buses.
North Yorkshire Council hasn’t held a public consultation on the latest gateway plans after previous consultations revealed more people opposed the scheme than supported it.
But the council was due to approve Traffic Regulation Orders today (December 13) paving the way for work to begin on the scheme early next year. You can read the council report on the matter here.
The bus lane order says the southbound route will extend 36 metres along the east side of lower Station Parade — the side that hosts businesses such as Mainline Taxis and HGPT Studio.
Lower Station Parade will be made one-way to accommodate the bus lane, and all the parking bays will be removed.
The short and disconnected nature of the planned cycle lane further along Station Parade has already been criticised, with even cyclists branding it pointless.
Now Steven Baines, who is leading the business group Get Away, which opposes the current gateway plans, described plans to create such a tiny bus lane as “daft and crazy”.
He added:
The introduction of a 36-metre bus lane cannot possibly result in saving more than a couple of seconds, at most, of a bus journey’s time.
The proposed works to lower Station Parade combined with the loss of 21 parking spaces and the 18 months-to-two years of disruption will inevitably result in financial damage to local businesses and could result in a loss of jobs as well as more empty shops at a time when there is pressure from the increased National Insurance payments as well as that from the continuing presence of online shopping.
There is also no consideration for the loss of parking and access for residents in the street. The effect of lower Station Parade being made one-way will also be felt on Commercial Street and Mount Parade as the increased traffic will inevitably lead to a reduction in parking there. Far from making the area more pleasant, the end result of the proposals could be catastrophic for this part of town.
Businessman Mr Baines, who has lived in Harrogate all his life and owns Baines House at the end of lower Station Parade, will talk about his wider concerns for the gateway in an interview with the Stray Ferret on Sunday.
We have asked the council if it wished to comment on his concerns, including the length of the bus lane.
At a gateway meeting in May last year, Richard Binks, head of major projects and development at the council, said it had scrapped plans for a bus lane on Cheltenham Parade but still planned to install one on lower Station Parade.
He said 44 buses an hour used that stretch of road and "each bus would gain 17 to 20 seconds" because of the lane.
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