A cycling group has said the expected abandonment of the second phase of the Otley Road cycle route has raised serious questions about the commitment to active travel in the Harrogate district.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at North Yorkshire County Council, said yesterday none of the proposed Otley Road options had proved popular and he was asking “serious questions” about whether to proceed.

Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said his group was one of the council’s consultees on the scheme and he was disappointed not to have been told the news.

He said the council had confidently predicted the scheme would succeed in 2017 and six years later only a third of it had been delivered.

Mr Douglas agreed there were problems with phase one but said shelving the scheme wasn’t the solution. He said he’d like to see alternative proposals and a more consistent commitment to active travel in the district, adding:

“If they do scrap it there needs to be very careful scrutiny of what’s happened here and whether there is a real commitment to doing things properly.

“To do these schemes you have got to be committed to change, like in Leeds and York.

“Let’s get Active Travel England, who are experts, to come in and look at the county council’s proposals and see what they think of them.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Otley Road cycleway: next phase looks set to be shelved
• Dismay as North Yorkshire awarded just £220,000 to boost cycling and walking

The three-phase Otley Road cycle route was supposed to be part of a wider scheme providing safe cycling between Cardale Park and the town centre. Mr Douglas said:

“If they don’t build phase two I’m not sure how they are going to see that through.”

He compared the lack of progress on Otley Road and other active travel schemes, such as Beech Grove and Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough, as well as the Harrogate Station Gateway, with the £70 million realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill, which is about to get underway.

Mr Douglas said removing car parking space on Beech Grove would encourage cyclists to use the road yet it wasn’t one of the options included in the Otley Road phase two consultation.

He said it was wrong to blame cyclists for the scheme collapsing when the real issue was a lack of commitment to active travel.

A decision on whether to proceed with the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway could depend on a Liberal Democrat-controlled committee of councillors.

The gateway scheme, which would radically transform the area opposite Harrogate train station, has proved highly divisive and controversial.

It would see James Street partly pedestrianised and a section of Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic to make way for cycle lanes.

Funding for the scheme was secured in March 2020 but nearly three years later, and despite three consultations, North Yorkshire County Council has yet to make a final decision on whether to proceed.

Part of James Street would be pedestrianised.

The council’s Conservative-controlled executive has now said the scheme will come before its Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee before a final decision is made. Eight of the committee’s 14 members are Liberal Democrats.

The committee is currently only an advisory body but Cllr Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways and transportation at the council, suggested its views will be crucial. He said:

“It would be very difficult for us to proceed with the scheme if local elected councillors were opposed.

“The people of Harrogate and Knaresborough have elected councillors. The majority of those are not Conservative, they are of a different political persuasion to the executive. We want to listen to what those councillors say.”

Read more:

• New consultation reveals more people still oppose than support £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway
• Harrogate Station Gateway consultation in numbers

Asked whether the Conservatives had passed the buck on such a political hot potato, Cllr Duncan replied:

“It is a hot potato but with great power comes great responsibility. Local people in Harrogate and Knaresborough have elected their councillors and we have all stood on a platform to make difficult decisions.

“The executive of the county council believes very strongly in localism. We want to ask local councillors for their views and we will pay very due attention to their views. That’s the right thing to do.”

Cllr Keane Duncan in Harrogate

Cllr Duncan, who lives in Ryedale, said he had no vested interest in the scheme, which he inherited when he took up his role in May last year. But he added:

“Having looked at it as an outsider, I feel there are great advantages in terms of improving the pedestrian and cycle links and making this corner of the town centre easier to access and a better place to spend time, so on balance I’m supportive.”

Consultation was ‘never a referendum’

The third consultation revealed once again more people feel negatively than possibly towards the scheme, albeit by a slender margin of 46% to 45%, with nine per cent neutral.

Cllr Duncan said the consultation “was never meant to be a referendum” and there was “significant support” for key elements of the scheme, including changes to the public realm and better walking and cycling infrastructure. He added:

“If you look at the actual figures there were just 17 more negative responses than positive responses. And if you factor in the nine percent neutral responses, actually that’s a long way away from the universal negativity that many people would suggest, because most people are positive or neutral towards it.

“With all that support that’s been expressed by the public, it would be a shame not to bring this project that’s been ongoing for a very long time to a decision point for councillors to be able to make a decision one way or another.”

Cllr Duncan also suggested scrapping the scheme could damage Harrogate and North Yorkshire’s chances of future funding.

“More than £11 million would be spent elsewhere in North Yorkshire or returned to government. I think that would be a great shame for Harrogate but also it would rock government’s confidence in North Yorkshire and that would be a great shame for Harrogate and the county.”

Cllr Keane Duncan will talk about other Harrogate transport issues, such as the A59 Kex Gill realignment, the proposed park and ride and the threat to bus services in an interview on Saturday.

The second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycleway looks set to be scrapped in the face of continued hostility towards the scheme.

The results of a consultation on options for phase two of the project are due to be released within days.

But Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at North Yorkshire County Council,  said none of the three options put forward had been well received and he was asking “serious questions” about whether to proceed. He said:

“None of the options have found significant favour with members of the public, including pedestrians and cyclists – the exact people this infrastructure is supposed to benefit. That for me is quite striking.

“If we’ve got pedestrians and cyclists, who are supposed to be the intended users of this infrastructure, saying to us ‘please think again’ that does not fill me with reassurance that we are looking at this in the right way so I’m very reluctant for us to repeat some of the issues that have arisen in phase one again with phase two.”

Phase one of the scheme, between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road, finished a year ago. The value of the contract was £827,000.

Some of the cycle path is shared with pedestrians.

It was widely criticised for the way the cycle path zigzags between the highway and shared paths with pedestrians. Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, described it as like “crazy golf construction”.

Read more:

• ‘Nightmare’ and ‘flawed’: Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path under further fire
• Bid to permanently close Harrogate road to through traffic

Cllr Duncan said phase two would face the same challenges: the road’s narrow width, protected trees and Stray land and therefore would not be fully segregated or compliant with current government recommendations for cycle infrastructure design.

However, there is still a chance the third phase, leading up to Cardale Park, could proceed.

He said:

“We get hit over the head all the time for schemes that are not compliant. This isn’t. So I want to look seriously at ‘have we looked at this in the round and is there any alternative option that we might need to look at?’. Is this going to achieve the benefits for active travel which it is intended to?

“I am more than prepared for us to deliver active travel schemes in the face of opposition. They are never going to be universally popular.

“But what I’m not prepared to do is to deliver an active travel scheme for the sake of delivering an active travel scheme, that the intended beneficiaries — walkers and cyclists — are saying to me, ‘please think again, this doesn’t make sense and we are not going to use it’.”

Was it a mistake to start?

Asked whether the scheme, which dates back well before Cllr Duncan took up his post last year, was a mistake, he replied:

“I don’t know all the various considerations that went into the proposals. Where things maybe went wrong is that we tried to get the mixture of segregated where we could and shared use where that wasn’t possible. That has led to quite a disjointed cycle route.

“I’m reflecting on that feedback and certainly where there have been problems – and it’s fair to say problems have been created with phase one – I would not want on my watch to repeat those same mistakes.”

Cllr Duncan said funding for the scheme was secured from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund, which has to be spent on easing congestion in western Harrogate rather than specifically on cycle schemes and if the Otley Road project does not go ahead it would continue to be used for this purpose.

Tomorrow Keane Duncan gives an update on the Harrogate Station Gateway and on Saturday we will publish a full interview in which he talks about Harrogate district transport schemes.

The latest consultation on the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme has revealed more people still oppose the scheme than support it.

The results, published today, show 46 per cent of the responses were negative, 45 per cent were positive and nine per cent neutral.

However, the outcome is closer than the previous consultation when 59 per cent were negative and 39 per cent positive.

The £11.2 million scheme would transform the area around Harrogate’s railway and bus stations but has proved controversial because of its potential impact on business and traffic. It would see James Street partly pedestrianised and traffic on Station Parade reduced to single-lane.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the scheme, said today’s results “demonstrate significantly higher support for the proposals”.

A total of 2,044 people responded to the latest consultation — almost twice as many as last time.

Just 41 per cent felt very positive/positive about the likely impact on businesses whereas 51 per cent strongly agreed/agreed the proposals would be a better use of public space, and make the town centre more attractive to residents and visitors.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“It is encouraging to see the public voice significant and growing support for the gateway scheme and its objectives.

“While overall opinion of the scheme is split almost 50:50, key elements of the scheme received positive support from the public who took part. They told us they believe the scheme will be positive for business, make getting around the town centre safer and encourage more people to walk and cycle.”

How the area outside the train station would look.

Cllr Duncan added:

“I am hopeful that this thorough process will address areas of concern and help build further support for the gateway scheme from Harrogate residents, businesses and visitors.

“The next stage will be for local Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors to consider the feedback and have their say on whether they wish the scheme to go ahead. Subject to approvals, we remain on track to start construction in November.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, Cllr Phil Ireland, said:

“I am delighted to see that the majority of people who responded agreed that the proposals would encourage walking and cycling in the town centre.”

What happens now?

The council now intends to draw up final designs.

The findings of the third consultation and details about next steps will be presented to North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation on January 20.

These will include publication of the necessary traffic regulation orders, which is scheduled for February.

In May, executive councillors will consider the outcome of the recent consultations and whether to submit the full business case to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which would need to be approved to release the funding.

In the event that all approvals for the scheme are received, construction is expected to begin by November.

Read more:

• Council leader faces call to drop £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway if public oppose it
• Transport chief still ‘committed’ to Harrogate Station Gateway, despite inflation fears

What is the Station Gateway?

The project is one of three in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being mainly funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund to promote active travel.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and the West `Yorkshire Combined Authority are working together on the scheme, funded by £10.9m of funding from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund and a £300,000 contribution from Harrogate Borough Council.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority all support the gateway.

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look back at plans for active travel in the Harrogate district.

Few topics have generated more heat over the last 12 months than schemes to promote walking and cycling in Harrogate. But for all the sound and fury, little has changed.

A decision on whether to proceed with the £11.2 million Station Gateway still has not been made. Beech Grove reopened to through traffic after an 18-month experimental closure. New cycle routes on Victoria Road and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough remain a distant dream, even though funding is in place. Oatlands Drive is once again the subject of a consultation.

The only significant development was the opening of the first phase of the Otley Road cycle path — to almost universal condemnation.

Critics wonder why cycling gets so much attention; cyclists and environmentalists wonder when anything will ever actually happen. Here’s what happened to the key schemes.

Station Gateway stalemate

In January, North Yorkshire County Council indicated it would proceed with the scheme despite concerns from businesses and residents about the impact on trade and delays on the roads — but warned it would take a year longer than expected. The proposed starting date was put back to this winter.

Don Mackenzie, the council’s Harrogate-based executive councillor for access who hailed the gateway as the “greatest investment in decades” in Harrogate town centre, did not seek re-election in May’s local elections. His successor, Cllr Keane Duncan, said he remained committed to the scheme and planned to “crack on”.

Out: Don Mackenzie (left). In: Keane Duncan

In June, the council opened a second consultation on the scheme. A third would follow in autumn.

Summer also saw the commercial property firm Hornbeam Park Developments Ltd threaten a judicial review against the council’s handling of the gateway.

Soaring inflation sparked concerns in autumn the quality of the scheme could be compromised due to rising construction costs — a claim Cllr Duncan denied.

Months of silence suggested enthusiasm was waning until Cllr Duncan said this month the council remained committed to the project. But he added it was still evaluating the results of the third round of consultation and would ask Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors for their views before deciding whether to proceed.

The anticipated start date was put back another year to late 2023.

Despite the delay, in December the council submitted a planning application to destroy the tempietto outside Victoria Shopping Centre to make way for changes to the public realm that would be part of the scheme, along with making some of Station Parade single lane to traffic and partly pedestrianising James Street.

The application was submitted even though a final decision on whether to proceed with the gateway project has not been taken. A council spokesman said the little temple would only be removed as part of the gateway works.

Beech Grove plans are beached

If ever a picture symbolised the state of active travel in Harrogate, it was the DPD van that got beached on a snowy Stray in February.

The van driver had attempted to evade the planters preventing traffic through traffic on Beech Grove.

The DPD van stuck on the Stray

Beech Grove is seen as a key route in wider plans to create an off-road cycling route from Cardale Park to Harrogate train station and the planters had been in place for a year to prevent vehicles using the street as a cut through between West Park, Otley Road and Cold Bath Road.

But the 18-month experimental order closing the road to through traffic expired in August and, with no new plans in place, traffic returned to how it was before.

The planters, however, have not been taken away. They remain by the side of the road pending another consultation.

This consultation did not start too well when one of three proposals put forward was described by Harrogate District Cycle Action as so dangerous it shouldn’t even be offered.

The proposal suggests making traffic heading out of town on Beech Grove one-way and creating an unprotected cycle lane on the opposite side.

Harrogate District Cycle Action said there wasn’t enough width for parking, a traffic lane, and a contraflow cycle lane. It added the contraflow cycle lane “would be a narrow ‘murder-strip’ putting cyclists’ lives in jeopardy from oncoming traffic.

A decision on what to do with Beech Grove and neighbouring streets is expected next year.

Otley Road’s ‘crazy golf’ design 

The first of three phases of the route finally opened in January. There were immediate concerns about the safety of a junction, which led to an agreement between North Yorkshire County Council and Yorkshire Water to widen the affected area.

As time went on there was further criticism of the design, ranging from the width of the cycle path not conforming to latest government guidance to the route zig-zagging between the highway and shared pedestrian routes.

Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, described it as like “crazy golf construction”.

He said a survey of residents and businesses along Otley Road revealed “very heavily negative” attitudes, with only two positive comments received.

The council staged an at-times heated meeting to discuss the latest proposals for Otley Road and Beech Grove in October but some residents did not receive letters from the council about the event before it took place.

There is little prospect of work starting on phases two and three anytime soon. A contractor has yet to be appointed for the second phase and funding has not been secured for phase three.

Read more:

• Otley Road cycle path could be re-routed with new traffic restrictions
• Transport chief still ‘committed’ to Harrogate Station Gateway, despite inflation fears
• Are the Beech Grove planters set for a comeback?

A toucan crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road looks set to be installed next year after plans were approved.

North Yorkshire County Council proposed the crossing to encourage walking and cycling at the junction with Slingsby Walk.

It will be the fourth set of lights in less than a mile between the Empress roundabout and the Woodlands junction, which is already one of the most congested stretches of road around Harrogate.

Council officials have estimated the crossing could double the number of cyclists using the Slingsby Walk route, which runs alongside the Stray.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the authority, approved the crossing at a meeting yesterday.

Subject to a feasibility study, it will be installed in the 2023/24 financial year.

The section of Wetherby Road and Slingsby Walk which is earmarked for a new crossing.

Cllr Duncan said:

“A crossing at Slingsby Walk would be a positive step forward for active travel in Harrogate, providing a safe, formal crossing point for both pedestrians and cyclists who might currently be hesitant about using the link.

“We recognise the concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road and at the meeting we discussed how we will use sensor technology to detect automatically when the crossing is clear to ensure no unnecessary delays to motorists.

“We are committed to doing more to create opportunities for people to walk or cycle for work, education and shopping as part of a balanced approach to travel. This means doing what we can to support all road users – motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport services.”

Likely to increase delays

Council officers have admitted the crossing is likely to cause further delays for drivers.

In a report outlining the proposal, Barrie Mason, assistant director for highways and transportation, accepted the move would likely increase pressure on the road network.

He added there were also officer concerns over “existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road”.

Read more:

• Wetherby Road crossing ‘likely to cause further delays’ for Harrogate drivers
• Council plans new crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road

However, he said these concerns had to be balanced against the benefit that it would offer to pedestrians and cyclists.

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.

More crossings should be installed on Oatlands Drive to make cycling and walking safe, says a Harrogate councillor.

Cllr Pat Mash, who represents Stray, Woodlands and Hookston on North Yorkshire County Council, said she welcomed new plans for a toucan crossing on Wetherby Road.

The authority revealed the proposal for the junction at Slingsby Walk this week.

But, Cllr Marsh said more crossings were needed on Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein following the announcement of the Wetherby Road installation.

She said:

“I have been pushing for this for sometime. However it does not go far enough crossings should be created  across Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein to ensure pedestrian and cyclists have safe access and hopefully it would encourage more people to use this as a cycle route. 

“I am not too sure traffic signals are right on such a busy road as Wetherby Road. Maybe a well signposted pedestrian crossing, but then it is about the safety of all. 

“This would have more benefit to the cycling community than the cycle way proposed on Oatlands Drive which is in such isolation from the rest of the community. At least Slingsby Walk would achieve more connectivity.”

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed the Wetherby Road crossing, which would cost £75,000, which it says could “double the number of people using a popular cycling and walking route”.

However, council officers have conceded that it will likely cause further delays for motorists in the area.

Read more:

• Wetherby Road crossing ‘likely to cause further delays’ for Harrogate drivers
• Council plans new crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road

If approved, implementation of the crossing will be subject to a detailed design and safety audit before it could be introduced in 2023/24. 

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.

Conservative Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways, said:

“We are committed to creating opportunities for people who want to walk or cycle for work, education, shopping or other reasons. This is clear in the Harrogate area through our Transforming Cities Fund gateway project and Active Travel Fund schemes to develop a safe, accessible network for cyclists and pedestrians.

“The Slingsby Walk crossing could offer a significant addition to the town’s infrastructure, providing a safe, formal crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists who might be hesitant about using the link at the moment.

“We recognise concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road. While an additional crossing would place extra pressure on the network, this needs to be weighed against the benefit to pedestrians and cyclists that already use this location and those that would if there was a formal crossing.”

The £11.9m Harrogate Station Gateway scheme has been delayed again and is now not due to start for another year.

In an update yesterday, Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways, said it remained “committed” to the controversial project.

But he added the council was still evaluating the results of the third round of consultation, which ended in August, and would ask Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors for their views before deciding whether to proceed.

Information attached to the summer consultation said it was “anticipated that construction would begin in winter 2022/3 for approximately 12 months”.

The council is now, however, saying work will start in late 2023.

Cllr Keane Duncan

Cllr Duncan said:

“We remain committed to moving forward with the gateway scheme, which represents more than £11m of investment into Harrogate.

“The most recent consultation attracted more than 2,000 responses, almost twice the number from previous consultations, as well as more than 5,000 individual comments. We thank all those who took part.

“The results of this consultation show opinion is finely balanced. Full evaluation and consideration of the responses is being completed and we will publish these early in the New Year.

“Following this, we will ask Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors for views on their support for a scheme that could be transformational for the town, and whether they want it to go ahead.

“Subject to final approvals, it is anticipated construction will begin late in 2023.”

Read more:

• Transport chief denies inflation will lead to ‘cheap’ Harrogate Station Gateway
• Final consultation event on Harrogate Gateway to be held online today

The Stray Ferret asked the council about the scheme as there had been no updates since the summer consultation and work was due to begin anytime now.

We also asked whether the threat of a judicial review, which was raised by the owner of Hornbeam Park this year, remained but Cllr Duncan’s statement did not address this.

Latest delay in controversial saga

The Station Gateway was hailed as the “greatest investment in decades” in Harrogate town centre by Cllr Duncan’s predecessor, Cllr Don Mackenzie, when funding was secured from the Department for Transport.

It would see part of James Street pedestrianised and part of Station Parade made single lane, as well as significant changes to the public realm near the Victoria monument.

How Station Parade would look

The government department had set a deadline of March 2023 for completion and work was due to have started in spring this year and last for a year.

But in January this year it was announced the scheme had been pushed back a year and now the same thin has happened again.

The project is one of three in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund to promote active travel.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority all support the gateway.

It has divided opinion with supporters saying it would boost cycling and walking as well as modernise the area around the train station.

But critics argue it could increase traffic delays and disrupt town centre business.

A new crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road is likely to cause “further delays” for drivers, a county council officer has said.

North Yorkshire County Council yesterday revealed plans to install a toucan crossing on the road next to Slingsby Walk on the Stray to encourage walking and cycling in Harrogate.

The crossing would be the fourth set of lights in less than a mile between the Empress roundabout and the Woodlands junction, which is already one of the most congested stretches of road around Harrogate.

In a report outlining the proposal, Barrie Mason, assistant director for highways and transportation, accepted the move would likely increase pressure on the road network.

He added there were also officer concerns over “existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road”.

However, he said that the measure had to be balanced with the benefit that it would offer to both pedestrians and cyclists.

Slingsby Walk is popular for walkers and cyclists.

Mr Mason said:

“Any additional crossing of the A661 Wetherby Road will likely cause further delays for people travelling on the road.

“It is felt, however, that the signalised crossing would be of benefit to pedestrians and cyclists and the safety and movement of vulnerable road users should be prioritised in this location in order to achieve a better balance between travel modes.”

Read more:

• North Yorkshire transport boss warns bus network faces ‘really grave situation’
• Council plans new crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road

Mr Mason added that the measure has the potential to more than double the cyclists on Slingsby Walk.

According to the report, a cycle count in the area on a single day in 2021 counted 84 cyclists.

Mr Mason said:

“Given the route’s geography, it is highly likely that most of these cyclists reached the A661 at the proposed crossing point location.

“The proposed crossing is thought to satisfy a key desire line for present and future cyclists.”

‘Creating opportunities’ for cycling and walking

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, is to consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday, December 14.

If approved, implementation of the crossing will be subject to a detailed design and safety audit before it could be introduced in 2023/24. 

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.

Cllr Duncan said:

“We are committed to creating opportunities for people who want to walk or cycle for work, education, shopping or other reasons. This is clear in the Harrogate area through our Transforming Cities Fund gateway project and Active Travel Fund schemes to develop a safe, accessible network for cyclists and pedestrians.

“The Slingsby Walk crossing could offer a significant addition to the town’s infrastructure, providing a safe, formal crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists who might be hesitant about using the link at the moment.”

A new crossing could be installed on Wetherby Road in an effort to improve walking and cycling in Harrogate.

The crossing, which could include traffic lights, would be put in place next to Slingsby Walk on the Stray.

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed the measure, which would cost £75,000, which it says could “double the number of people using a popular cycling and walking route”.

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, is to consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday, December 14.

Cllr Duncan said: 

“We are committed to creating opportunities for people who want to walk or cycle for work, education, shopping or other reasons. This is clear in the Harrogate area through our Transforming Cities Fund gateway project and Active Travel Fund schemes to develop a safe, accessible network for cyclists and pedestrians.

“The Slingsby Walk crossing could offer a significant addition to the town’s infrastructure, providing a safe, formal crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists who might be hesitant about using the link at the moment.

“We recognise concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road. While an additional crossing would place extra pressure on the network, this needs to be weighed against the benefit to pedestrians and cyclists that already use this location and those that would if there was a formal crossing.

“We need to consider the benefits a signalised crossing would bring to pedestrians and cyclists and the safety of vulnerable road users in this location to achieve a better balance between different modes of travel.”

Read more:

• North Yorkshire transport boss warns bus network faces ‘really grave situation’
• 80 bus services in North Yorkshire under threat, says Harrogate district MP

If approved, implementation of the crossing will be subject to a detailed design and safety audit before it could be introduced in 2023/24. 

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.

Cllr Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said: 

“If we want to achieve our zero-carbon economy targets, we need to invest in sustainable travel options and help make them as safe as possible.

“Introducing a road crossing on Wetherby Road at Slingsby Walk will ensure people have safe access between the east and west of Harrogate town centre. Especially as this route is frequently used by young people accessing the nearby schools.

“I’d like to thank North Yorkshire County Council as well as Councillor Keane Duncan for considering this proposal.”