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28
Nov 2021
Last Updated: 26/11/2021
Stray Views: Harrogate needs more prominent speed signs
A plea for more to be done to stop speeding in Harrogate and support for the Station Gateway scheme feature in this weekend's Stray Views.
Letters
Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
"Why can't we have more speed limit signs up?"
The accident (featured in the Stray Ferret) is just one of many to come. I have been trying for the last 3 years to make the police in Harrogate, plus the Harrogate council, know of the massive problem with people speeding in this town.
Believe me it’s not nice when you are walking to town on Leeds Road towards Betty’s and many cars are passing you by at over 60 mph on 30mph road right next to where I am walking on the sidewalk.
I have asked to have signs put up to say this is a 30 mph road as there is only one sign up at the whole of Leeds Road and the response I got was that because this is a Restricted Road they can’t put sights up, what does this even mean? If you driving anywhere in the UK on the road where there is 30mph and you are doing 35 mph you will get a penalty as this is the law so why is it different here?
I mean this must be the only town in the UK where people can drive at this crazy speeds and get away with it. To me it looks like unless someone dies here, they will do nothing about this.
Even though when they put up a temporary speeding camera a year ago, they caught 200 cars speeding in just one hour.
The only reason no one died in this recent accident is because it happened at 2am in the morning.
Regards
Pauline, Harrogate
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"Time people in favour of the Gateway plan came forward"
The question is often asked, “How should we reduce the vehicle traffic in Harrogate Town Centre?”. To me that is the wrong question. The real question is how can we reduce all vehicle traffic? We need to reduce vehicle traffic everywhere.
We need to travel less. Less journeys. Shorter journeys. And shift towards busses, trains, cycling and walking.
Why? Well because with a bigger population and increasing traffic we are polluting the global atmosphere and causing climate change.
The Gateway plan is something I welcome. It’s time that views in favour came forward, and I think there are plenty of reasons to favour the Gateway proposals. It will bring the centre of Harrogate back to being pleasant. Pleasant to walk, pleasant to cycle and pleasant to shop.
As a Knaresborough lad my first memories of Station Parade were being intrigued by the big statue. I was five years old, and my eldest brother carefully explained who Queen Victoria was and why her statue was there. There was two-way traffic then, it was 1959, but there was not a lot of traffic. It was a nice place to be. Another memory was in the late sixties and I was cycling as a young teenager. By then there was more traffic and the car was king.
Move forward through the nineteen nineties and the two lanes in one direction were becoming like a race-track, with pedestrians at various places waiting to cross. Not a nice place at all. So the thought of a single lane, one-way for drivers in Station Parade is very pleasant. No more cut and thrust with cars accelerating to stop the car alongside from getting past.
Being able to cycle either way will be pleasant, and with bus and railway stations being so close there will be so many ways to arrive at this pleasant area. With no traffic on James Street it will also become a pleasant area to wander, with more shops to browse and buy. This certainly seems the way forward to me, and should benefit everyone.
Andrew Willoughby, Knaresborough
'We need to plan for a largely care free future'
Just wanted to say how much I support the comments made in the letter last week regarding the Station Gateway redevelopment and the potential for change it represents.
I continue to be amazed at the volume and speed of traffic in and around the town. We need prominent speed signs, a 20mph town wide zone, speed enforcement cameras and many more pedestrian controlled crossings.
We need to plan for a largely car free future with more reliance on public transport, cycling and walking.
Peter Whittingham, Harrogate
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.
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