Villagers call for improved safety at ‘death junction’Fresh concerns over Knaresborough’s ‘most dangerous junction’

Concerns have again been raised about the safety of pedestrian crossings at what has been described as Knaresborough’s “most dangerous junction”.

Former town councillor James Monaghan first raised the issue of drivers ignoring red lights at the four-way junction where York Place, High Street, Gracious Street and Park Row meet in 2017 – and he now says the problem is “as bad as ever”.

He said:

“On a daily basis cars and vans drive through the green man when pedestrians should be able to cross safely.

“This is dangerous enough, but on a crossing used by hundreds of school children daily it is an accident waiting to happen.

“With all the new houses that have been built across the district and the associated cars, congestion has only got worse and it needs to be addressed for everyone’s safety and convenience.”

Mr Monaghan said the problem has not been tackled by North Yorkshire County Council, which changed the traffic lights four years ago to allow more time for the junction to clear before pedestrians are invited to cross.

The county council said the detection system failed “a few months ago,” but has now been fixed with works being completed last week.

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Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the county council, said:

“We know of the concerns around the pedestrian stage of the signal cycle at the junction of High Street and Gracious Street.

“The signals team will continue to monitor the effective operation of the signal equipment and timing.”

Ms Burnham also said it was the responsibility of motorists to ensure they follow the rules of the road. She said:

“We do all we can to ensure this junction operates as effectively as possible, but we also ask drivers who use this junction to respect all road users and the traffic light systems in place, ensuring they are driving safely in accordance with the local conditions.”

Safety fears over plans for public art on Ripon bypass roundabout

Ripon City Council is objecting ‘in the strongest terms’ to the siting of two of the three proposed public realm art installations being planned to celebrate the life of Wilfrid — the city’s patron saint.

The council first voiced safety concerns last year about a five-metre high montage depicting the building of ancient Rome on the bypass roundabout at the junction with Boroughbridge Road.

Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:

“I had a meeting with applicant Christopher Baily who was representing an organisation called Art in Churches and I made our concerns very clear to him and assumed that a more suitable location would be found for this element of the Rome to Ripon Art trail.

“I said at the meeting, that the city council supports, in principle, the installation of public realm artworks recognising the work of St Wilfrid, but not on the busiest roundabout on the bypass.”

Cllr Williams, added:

“At the June full council meeting, we looked at the plans for the artworks and found that our public safety concerns have been completely ignored and the applicant has presented what appears to be precisely the same proposal for the structure on the roundabout.

Stage on front of Ripon Town Hall

Staging in front of Ripon Town Hall for the city council’s programme of free live music would have to move if planning permission is granted.

“To add insult to injury, the plans also indicate that the proposed siting of a five-metre high bronze of St Wilfrid on Market Place, would require a re-positioning of the stage, safety barriers and associated equipment employed when we are holding free public events for Ripon residents and visitors to the city,

“The plans that we saw, showed that the applicant, without any consultation with the council, took the decision to move the stage from immediately in front of the town hall to a location on Market Square.

“Both this and the roundabout plan are totally unacceptable and we have objected in the strongest terms to Harrogate Borough Council planners, who we hope will understand our reasons for making our concerns known.”

The Stray Ferret approached Mr Baily twice by email on Monday to give him the opportunity to respond to objections raised by the city council.

At the time of publication, no response had been received.

The proposed third element of the Rome to Ripon art trail features a sculpture to be located close to the cathedral of a boat, to represent the visits that Wilfrid made on journeys involving sea crossings to visit Rome.

The city council has advised planners that it has no objection to the location of this part of the trail.

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