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22
Jan
‘Where would the undertakers park?’ Council scraps plan to move Harrogate zebra crossing outside church
North Yorkshire Council has scrapped plans to relocate the zebra crossing on Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue directly outside a church after it was pointed out there would be nowhere for a wedding car or hearse to park.
The council wanted to move the crossing a few metres to the west so it would be right in front of the entrance to St Paul’s United Reformed Church.
This would have meant getting rid of the parking bays outside the church entrance.
But the church said this “would cause considerable difficulties, particularly for funerals and weddings”.
The council has now said in a report, which you can read here, the objection is “valid” and ignoring it “could lead to a negative public perception of the highway authority”.
The zebra crossing will therefore remain where it is. However, plans to remove five parking spaces at the other end of Victoria Avenue to accommodate a bus stop will proceed at a cost of £700,000.
These parking spaces directly outside the church entrance would have been lost.
Two-year saga
The council has been planning changes to Victoria Avenue since February 2023.
It initially wanted to introduce a cycle lane, but dropped this due to lack of funds.
Instead, it came up with a new raft of ideas for Victoria Avenue, which the Stray Ferret reported here in April last year.
They included relocating the zebra crossing to the east, closer to the Station Parade junction, and making Belford Road left-turn only. But this proved unpopular in a consultation because it would force drivers to join West Park and circumnavigate the central one-way system.
So instead it proposed relocating the zebra crossing to the west, directly across the pavement from the main entrance gates to the church.
The church objected, saying:
This would make access to the church gates impossible which would cause considerable difficulties, particularly for funerals and weddings.
The undertakers at a funeral would be unable to park directly outside the gates and would have great difficulty negotiating their way from the hearse to the church gates. This would cause considerable distress for the bereaved who would be waiting to follow the coffin into the church – and where would the undertakers park?
At weddings where would the bridal party park, and how far would the bride have to walk to find her way into the church? In both cases there would be challenges at the end of the service for all involved.
Councillor Sam Gibbs, a Conservative whose Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate division on North Yorkshire Council includes the area, did not raise any concerns.
Jasmin Gibson, improvement project delivery manager at the council, said in the report ahead of a meeting of the council's environment directorate on Friday (January 24):
The objection raised cannot be readily overcome without potentially creating other issues. Whilst there is alternative parking in the vicinity, it cannot be disputed that removing the parking immediately outside of the church access would cause inconvenience and disruption to those taking part in or attending church services. This could lead to the temptation to park across the relocated crossing, thus creating a safety hazard rather than a benefit for members of the public.
The zebra crossing will therefore remain where it is.
Ms Gibson's report does, however, recommend removing five parking spaces near the United Reformed Church on West Park to accommodate a bus stop.
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