Issued by City of York Council
York is affirming its position as one of the safest cycling cities in the UK with a new scheme to introduce a major new cycle route in the north of the city.
Supported by North Yorkshire Police and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, works are now underway to create a safe off-road shared cycle and pedestrian route along the A1237 outer ring road, between the Haxby Road roundabout and the B1363 Wigginton Road roundabout, connecting over 15,000 people living in this area of York.
The measures also include new links with Haxby Road near to the roundabout, a new bridge over the York to Scarborough railway line with approach ramps on the existing embankments and an additional crossing point on Wigginton Road to safely connect with Clifton Moor.
The provision of an off-road route / safe link opens up access (sustainably, via cycling and / or walking) between Haxby, Strensall, Huntington, Earswick, New Earswick and to the retail, leisure and employment destination of Clifton Moor as well as students attending Joseph Rowntree School.
The new cycle route will be the flagship scheme of City of York Council’s four-year i-Travel initiative, made possible by £4.6 million of government funding which the council successfully bid for in 2011.
This will be one of the largest investments in York’s cycling infrastructure since the introduction of the Orbital Cycle Route in 2011 and will invest £925,000 from i-Travel and Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding.
Cllr Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability, said: “The Clifton Moor retail, leisure and employment areas attracts around six million visitors every year and supports 6,000 employees, so it is key that we provide an alternative way to sustainably get to this important employment, retail and leisure area in York.
“In addition to the proposed cycle route, we have also addressed the lack of good pedestrian and cycle routes within the Clifton Moor retail / leisure area itself by investing almost £100,000 of government funding on new pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, cycle lanes, and measures to slow traffic speeds, by introducing easier and safer access for pedestrians and cyclists.
“York is one of the top cycling cities in the UK, and is one of the reasons why it has been chosen to host the Tour de France Grand Depart.
“However, there are still many parts of York where we need to invest in our cycle routes, particularly in difficult and hard to access locations like Clifton Moor, and helping get cyclists off road should be safer all round too.”
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “We support any initiative that encourages people to use bicycles safely and this is an important scheme which should help to reduce casualties on the city’s roads.
“The new cycle route will be of great benefit for the people living in Haxby and Wigginton and especially the students at Joseph Rowntree School.”
Jonathan Gibson, Senior Development Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “This investment will make York a better place to live and work and become more sustainable in transport terms. The DfT criteria is something we fully recognise and support in reducing carbon emissions and promoting local economic growth.”
Residents can find out more about the proposed new cycle route by visiting www.york.gov.uk/haxbytocliftonmoor .
Earlier this month, feedback from a recent consultation asking for views on the new cycle route were taken to a cabinet member decision session. To view the report linked to this meeting go here.
The scheme is currently scheduled for completion in late Spring 2014.
This content has not been created by YorkMix but by one of our trusted news sources. YorkMix is not responsible for the accuracy of the text.