Measures designed to improve safety on a York city centre street are set for a decision.
The proposals for Blake Street include a loading ban from 10.30am to 5pm and new signs to try and stop vehicles from entering during pedestrianised hours.
A City of York Council report on the plans stated it would improve safety for drivers and vulnerable road users while allowing permitted vehicles to exit onto Duncombe Place.
But cycle campaigners fear that the changes could put cyclists more at risk.
The proposals follow a rise in vehicles using the initial stretch of Blake Street for drop-offs and deliveries since the introduction of restrictions on the road in 2024.
Footstreets restrictions see bollards in place from 10.30am to 5pm, barring vehicles from entering Blake Street, with a few exceptions allowed.
It means those vehicles then have to exit back onto the Museum Street and Duncombe Place junction which is illegal due to one-way restrictions in Blake Street.
The council’s report stated it was also unsafe because vehicles were rejoining the road without any traffic signals, placing themselves, other drivers and pedestrians at risk.
The proposals
The proposals are set to go before the council’s Labour transport spokesperson Cllr Kate Ravilious for a decision next Tuesday (27 January).
They include measures to allow vehicles which drive onto Blake Street within footstreets hours to exit via the slip road onto Duncombe Place when the bollards are closed.
Restrictions on Blake Street from the Museum Street and Duncombe Place junction to the bollards would be changed, allowing for part one-way and two way traffic flows.
The rest of Blake Street beyond the bollards would remain one-way.
Plans also include two dedicated bays for inclusive and cargo bikes and a commitment to look into more cycle parking nearby in the future.
The concerns
But there are concerns about this arrangement.
Andy D’Agorne, of the York Cycle Campaign, said: “Signing, a loading ban and enforcement should be tried first, before the rest of the proposal which is likely to increase regular use by taxis and private cars turning round in a pedestrian area.
“The proposal to move the bike racks and open up the currently closed off ‘slip road’ for vehicle exit will increase risks for cyclists and result in vehicles swinging out into the path of cyclists and cars entering Duncombe Place from the junction.
“It’s an arrangement that could lead to cyclists riding on the pavement or past inconguous ‘no entry’ signs on the ‘slip road’ leading to the cycle racks.
“It will be a waste of funds once it is implemented as a dog’s breakfast solution.”
Mr D’Agorne said the proposal “to improve the inadequate signing on approach to the junction makes sense, and could be combined with ‘restricted access’ wording on the road and camera enforcement”.
York Civic Trust opposes the changes too. It says all the extra signage would harm the heritage setting.
It also opposes “the undesirable re-allocation of road space to vehicles on the Slip-Road; the counter-intuitive vehicle movements that this would introduce; and the acute turn-out onto Duncombe Place”.
It put forward a different option with a dedicated exit signal from Blake Street (sharing the St Leonard’s Place green phase) at the junction. It also wants changes to the carriageway widths; stop lines; pavements; and raised planted areas.
This was supported by York Cycle Campaign but rejected by the council as being too expensive.
- Additional reporting: YorkMix
