New speed limits will be introduced outside a series of schools in Harrogate under plans for North Yorkshire’s largest ever 20mph zone.

North Yorkshire Council today unveiled proposals for an extensive 20mph zone covering streets across the Pannal Ash and Oatlands areas of the town.

The proposed area for the new zone includes a total of seven schools in Harrogate.

These are Harrogate Grammar School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Ashville College, St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Oatlands Junior School and Oatlands Infants School.

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

“This is the most significant 20mph zone the council has ever introduced.

“Our plan will see 20mph limits introduced outside seven more schools and on nearby residential streets, meaning thousands of children can enjoy safer journeys every day.

“This landmark proposal is testament to the collective determination of schools, families and councillors to respond to public concerns and deliver ambitious action. It sets a positive example and leads the way for communities across North Yorkshire.”

A proposed £585,000 package of sustainable transport measures for the west of Harrogate has also been announced today.

The National Productivity Investment Fund package will be used to deliver parts of the new 20mph zone, as well as upgraded signals at the Cold Bath Road/Otley Road/Arthurs Avenue junction.

A crossing will be installed outside Western Primary School on Cold Bath Road.

There will also be improvements to bus stops along Otley Road, the crossing outside Falcon Chiropractic on Cold Bath Road, and a new crossing will be installed outside Western Primary School on Cold Bath Road.

Improvements will be made to cycle route signing, the crossing between Green Lane public right of way and Ashville College, and there will be new cycle parking and public realm improvements on Cold Bath Road. Nursery Lane will be upgraded to allow cyclists to use as an off-road leisure route.

Cllr Duncan said:

“We halted unpopular plans for phase two of the Otley Road cycleway to develop an alternative package of measures.

“This decision means we are now able to invest in signal improvements, new crossings, cycling improvements and new bus stops instead.

“This alternative package will be of immense and lasting benefit to all road users – motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers.”

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Oatlands Junior School starts scheme

The first School Street initiative started today at Oatlands Junior School, whereby Beechwood Grove is closed to traffic at pick-up and drop-off times to create a safer environment and encourage more children to walk, cycle or scoot to school.

The pilot has been implemented for an experimental 18-month period to allow for its impact to be monitored and assessed. A decision will then be made whether to make the scheme permanent once a review has been carried out.

Members of the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee will be asked to provide feedback on the proposed 20mph and transport package at a meeting on Thursday, September 14.

The plans will then be considered for approval by Cllr Duncan, with the aim of implementing the measures early next year.

Pateley Bridge Town Council is to investigate the possibility of installing speed bumps on High Street following a complaint by a resident.

The unnamed resident, who lives on Kings Court, wrote to the council calling for speed bumps at the top and bottom of the narrow street.

They said it would deter “speeding cyclists, motorbikes and boy racers”.

At their monthly meeting last night, town councillors agreed to look into the idea, although any final decision would be taken by North Yorkshire Council, which is the highways authority.

Andrew Murday, who is a town councillor and also the Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale on North Yorkshire Council, said he would look into the criteria for allowing speed bumps.

Cllr Mike Holt said the issue of speeding on High Street, which cyclists approach downhill in all directions, had been debated many times and speed bumps were the only realistic option, although he added the faded double yellow lines could be re-painted.

Cllr Neil Thompson said illegal parking on the street was the main problem, although it was mentioned that disabled people with Blue Badges were entitled to park on double yellow lines for up to three hours and this had to be taken into account.

Councillors agreed to consult on the idea before contacting North Yorkshire Council if the idea was viable.

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Ripon City Council has asked North Yorkshire County Council to approve its request for 14 vehicle activated speed signs.

The county council, which is the highways authority, has the ultimate say over where the signs can be placed.

It has indicated it will approve use of the signs, which are intended to encourage drivers to obey speed restrictions rather than punish them, on no more than eight Ripon streets.

But Ripon councillors have identified 14 hotspots for the traffic-calming measure and hope they will all be approved.

The signs show drivers their speed and whether they are going too fast. The cost of adapting each lamp post to include a sign is £500 plus VAT.

Paula Benson, clerk to Ripon City Council, told February’s full council meeting the county council had said it was prepared to approve the use of the signs on no more than eight Ripon streets.

Councillors voted unanimously to call on the county council to approve more locations.

They also said that if additional money was required for signs and installation it should come from the city council.

City, Harrogate district and county councillor, Stuart Martin, said:

“Members of the public have told us where these signs are needed.

“We should stick with the locations that have been identified and requested.”

Council leader Andrew Williams added:

“Ripon is not a small village, it’s a growing city with more traffic and therefore increased risk to pedestrians.”

Whitcliffe Lane – one of 14 locations on the city council list for a speed awareness sign.

Because the signs are mobile, they can be moved around the city and put in selected traffic hotspots for a few weeks at a time.

Councillor Pauline McHardy, said:

“It’s a way of educating motorists driving in different parts of Ripon, by making them aware of their speed.”

Among the locations on the city council list is Kirkby Road, where residents have likened a 300-metre stretch with no white lines to a ‘race track’.

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Across the city, Whitcliffe Lane has also been put forward as a street in need of a speed sign.

The lane is alongside a new housing development at the former Ripon Cathedral Choir School site, which has increased traffic.

This situation is being repeated in other parts of Ripon, where new housing schemes are coming on stream.

Ripon residents have raised safety fears about a section of unmarked road used “like a racetrack” by speeding motorists.

A 300 metre length of Kirkby Road did not have white lines replaced when resurfacing work was completed in August.

Ten nearby residents met the Stray Ferret to discuss their concerns.

Helen Mars, a teacher at Ripon Grammar School who has two young children, said:

“With the speed that some drivers come along this stretch, it’s like a racetrack – particularly at the weekends.

“As this is a road that it also used by very large lorries, we believe that it is dangerous without the white lines and an accident waiting to happen.”

Part of the 300-metre section of Kirkby Road that has no white lines. Many of the concerned residents live in homes on the left.

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Residents are particularly concerned about the lack of a crossing patrol for Ripon Grammar School students, who use a path alongside the Kirkby Road allotments on their way to school.

Barbara Brodigan said:

“At least 100 children cross the road in the mornings and evenings on their way to and from school.

“Our previous requests for localised speed restrictions, a crossing and other traffic calming measures have fallen on deaf ears at North Yorkshire County Council.

“We’ve been told that a crossing can’t be introduced because the path alongside the allotments is not an officially recognised route to the grammar school.

“In effect, that means the students cross at their own peril – which is clearly unacceptable.”

Christina Thomson Jones added:

“I have lived on Kirkby Road for 29 years and the traffic issues appear to get worse and worse.

“One of my neighbours was killed while crossing the road in 1996 and nobody wants to see another fatality.”

County Councillor Mike Chambers, who represents Ripon North, said he was aware of the issues and sympathetic to calls for safety measures. He said:

“I have spoken with the county council’s traffic department about the need for a crossing, introduction of a 20 mph speed limit and even the possibility of having a one way system.

“I have another meeting with the department on January 6 and will raise these issues again and ask about replacement of the white lines, but at the end of the day, it’s down to budget availability.

“Installing a lights-controlled crossing costs up to £50,000.”

Although that money may not currently be available, Cllr Chambers is hopeful that safety measures could be funded as part of highway works to accommodate the Ripon Barracks housing development.

He said:

“The developer will have to make payments through a Section 106 agreement for works associated with the scheme and we may be able to get some of that money to address the safety issues on Kirkby Road.”

A primary school headteacher and parents are calling for urgent speed measures in Killinghall before a child is killed or seriously injured.

Sarah Bassitt, headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School, spoke out after a fruitless two-year campaign to tackle speed outside the school.

Traffic hurtles downhill along Otley Road into the village at a 60mph limit, which only reduces to 30mph about 200 metres from the school. Often cars are doing at least 40mph when they pass the building.

Ms Bassitt said many schools had 20mph limits outside and traffic calming measures, such as speed humps.

But two years of writing to North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police have not led to similar outcomes in Killinghall.

Ms Bassitt said:

“The criteria seems to be that you have to have a child killed before anything is done.

“That hasn’t happened mainly because of the vigilance of parents and teachers.

“It’s very dangerous and different to what happens at other schools. It feels like we are hitting out heads against a brick wall.”

Ms Bassitt said some parents were so exasperated they had even used fake speed guns to encourage drivers to slow down.

Otley Road, outside the school in Killinghall.

Parent Gary Donoghue, who has led the campaign, said children were scared to walk to school.

Mr Donoghue said there should be a 20mph limit outside the school.

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He also called for the 30mph limit coming into the village to be moved back to the junction with Lund Lane to allow traffic more time to slow down before passing the school. He added:

“We are looking for prevention rather than repercussions. We don’t want something to happen to our children so they are the ones who bring about change.

“There seems to be a lack of acknowledgement that there is a problem. But when your child is scared to walk to school that is an issue. I wish someone from the council would come and speak to us.”

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire County Council several times for comment but did not receive a response.