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:
Traffic and Travel alert: Temporary York Place lights causing delays“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.”
Drivers are warned to expect long queues on York Place in Harrogate due to three-way temporary traffic lights.
The lights are in place at the junction with Queen Parade and are causing tailbacks at busy times.
CityFibre has put the temporary lights in place as part of maintenance work. The lights are expected to be in place until Thursday, May 12.
Three-way traffic lights on York Place are causing long queues at busy times.
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Highways chief orders study into Harrogate’s Prince of Wales roundabout crossing
North Yorkshire County Council is to look into installing a zebra crossing at the Prince of Wales roundabout in Harrogate.
Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for highways, has ordered council officers to conduct a feasibility study into creating an uncontrolled crossing on the exit at York Place. ‘Uncontrolled’ means there wouldn’t be any traffic lights.
The move comes after Malcolm Margolis, a local environment campaigner, posted a video on social media showing people struggling to cross the roundabout due to the volume of oncoming cars.
Mr Margolis said the crossing was “unsafe by design” and left people having to wait for cars to let them cross the road.
He said:
“They [pedestrians] either have to wait – and wait – for a decent gap in the traffic or, as here, rely on the kindness of drivers holding up traffic behind them while they make a run for it.”
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Cllr Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret a study will be prepared to look at the viability of a zebra crossing on the site.
He ruled out a traffic light crossing as this would see “cars stuck on the roundabout”.
Prince of Wales roundabout #Harrogate. Unsafe for pedestrians by design. They either have to wait – and wait – for a decent gap in the traffic or, as here, rely on the kindness of drivers holding up traffic behind them while they make a run for it. Zebra crossing essential. pic.twitter.com/rbwTlmUxaJ
— Malcolm Margolis BEM (@MalcolmMargolis) March 23, 2022
Cllr Mackenzie, who is due to step down from the county council at the May elections, said crossing at the Prince of Wales roundabout had been an issue for “many years”.
Cllr Don Mackenzie
He said:
“This has been something that has been existing for many years and we think the time has come that this needs to be looked at afresh.
“I have often heard people say that this is a difficult road to cross and you have to rely on the politeness of drivers.”
A study will now be drawn up by county council officials and brought before either Cllr Mackenzie or his successor as county councillor for highways.