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29
Oct
Cyclists welcome new crossing on Harrogate's Wetherby Road
A new pedestrian and cyclist crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road is up and running.
The toucan crossing, at the junction with Slingsby Walk, comes after North Yorkshire Council’s executive last year approved a £230,000 road safety package.
The package included plans for the Wetherby Road crossing and the county’s first tiger crossing on Oatlands Drive, both of which are being funded by the council’s 2025/26 highways capital programme.
The schemes are intended to help cyclists and pedestrians navigate busy junctions with Slingsby Walk, which is one of the few areas of the Stray where cycling is permitted.
The authority published Traffic Regulation Orders for both crossings in August, but work on the Oatlands Drive crossing is yet to materialise.
The council has said the crossing will encourage active travel and reduce congestion and car dependency.
Malcolm Margolis, of Harrogate District Cycle Action, described the crossing as "pretty impressive". He added:
After more than a decade campaigning for this safe crossing of Wetherby Road for pedestrians and cyclists, we are delighted to see it in place at last.
It provides an essential link in the cycling network on the Stray. We look forward to a second crossing on Oatlands Drive, scheduled for February 2026, which will improve safety for many residents including pupils at two major secondary schools, St Aidans and St John Fisher, and hope it will encourage more to walk and cycle rather than go by car.
The new toucan crossing on Wetherby Road.
A council report published in October 2024 said 120 people had expressed support for the Wetherby Road crossing, which is a short distance from the existing pedestrian-only crossing at the St Winifred’s Avenue junction, and 47 had objected.
Among objectors at the time was the Stray Defence Association, which protects the Stray from encroachment.
It “expressed the view that the crossing updates were not needed, along with being opposed to Stray land being enclosed for this purpose”, the report said.
The loss of Stray land meant the council had to dedicate land to the Duchy of Lancaster, which owns the freehold of the Stray, in exchange before work could commence.
Grass land on Hookstone Drive was allocated for this purpose, the report said at the time.
A layout of the plans for a crossing on Oatlands Drive.
Oatlands Drive scheme
The tiger crossing, also known as a parallel crossing, would consist of a zebra crossing with segregated zones for cyclists and pedestrians (pictured above).
It is named after similar crossings in Hong Kong, which are painted yellow and black.
When the Traffic Regulation Orders were published, the council said the Oatlands Drive scheme is “considered necessary to avoid danger to persons using the road, to facilitate the passage of pedestrians and cyclists, and to improve the amenities of the area."
It received 120 comments of support and 43 objections, according to the council’s report last year.
The Stray Ferret has contacted North Yorkshire Council to ask when work will start on the Oatlands Drive scheme.
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