A Harrogate district cycling group has described new plans to improve Victoria Avenue as “unambitious” and “unbelievably disappointing”.
North Yorkshire Council announced yesterday it had scrapped plans to create cycle lanes on the avenue in favour of other measures, such as new parking meters and making the Belford Road junction left-turn only.
You can read the proposals here.
The proposals include making it illegal to turn right from Belford Road.
The government body Active Travel England awarded the council £1 million in 2020 for cycling schemes, and £250,000 was allocated towards creating a cycleway on Victoria Avenue.
As recently as February this year the council said the cycleway was a “priority“.
So yesterday’s announcement that it would no longer happen due to “budgetary constraints” has not been well received, particularly as the funding will be spent on other measures to improve the road for pedestrians instead.
In an article on its website, the campaign group Harrogate District Cycle Action said the new scheme “does nothing at all for cycling”.
It added:
“Given that the successful bid for this funding was to build four ambitious cycling schemes, that is unbelievably disappointing.
“North Yorkshire has been making promises of ‘jam tomorrow’ for cycling for at least 10 years. It is always just about to deliver a meaningful cycling scheme, but then at the last minute it changes its mind.”
It cited the second phase of the Otley Road cycleway, the abandonment of Beech Grove modal filters, other undelivered Active Travel England-funded schemes and the watered down Harrogate Station Gateway as examples.
The group has urged people to respond to the consultation by calling on the council to change its mind and support cycling infrastructure.
Beech Grove, pictured from the end of Victoria Avenue.
It called on the council to make Victoria Avenue right-turn only at the junction with West Park to remove traffic from Beech Grove and said the proposed measures would have only marginal benefits.
It said:
“The new scheme for Victoria Avenue is unambitious, and all the cycling elements have been stripped out of it.
“Among other things, the council plans to spend the active travel fund cycling money on car parking ticket machines and a bus stop.
“Whenever we ask for improvements to the cycle network, we are told by the council that it is not possible due to lack of funding.
“Then when they do have funding for cycle improvements, they spend the money on a bus stop instead.”
Have your say
Consultation on the proposals ends on May 12. As part of this, an engagement session will take place from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday, May 7 at the council office. The address is Stray Room, St Luke’s Mount, Harrogate HG1 2AE.
To comment, you can email [email protected] using ‘Victoria Avenue ATF 2 Consultation’ in the title of your email or letter.
Or post comments to: NYC Highways, Area 6 Boroughbridge Office, Stump Cross, Boroughbridge YO51 9HU
Read more:
- Cycle lanes scrapped and new traffic measures proposed for Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue
- Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens set to become private road
