City-centre road improvements set to start (From York Press)

When the council say 'road improvement scheme' what do they mean?

Hopefully something better than what is happening in Church St at the moment. Blocks are being removed to dig a trench for a couple of plastic pipes and then the trench is filled with rubble and tarmac! It looks a bl****y mess. Don't we employ clerk of works anymore?

Looking at the plans not a lot of change - assuming I have picked up the final copy. Was amazed to see they are not proposing to take out any traffic lanes. They are however using their usual weapon of choice – traffic lights, a few more, and phasing of them along with cycle lanes to encourage cyclist to get in the way of other road to make driving a car a little more time consuming and frustrating.

Most notable are the additional traffic lights controlling Fishergate to Paragon Street. I am sure this will be used to maximum effect to create queues on Tower Street heading towards Paragon using the Councils preferred traffic light policy of having lights change to red when vehicles get to the first road sensor loop but otherwise leaving them on green if no traffic is approaching whilst those already at the junction at a red are wondering WHY!!!!

As an aside has anyone else noticed the pedestrian crossing lights on Paragon Street have, for the past few weeks, been changing to red for no apparent reason every six cars or so. You will have noted though that whoever has dug a hole there has nicely covered it with a steel plate which handily seems to be just over the sensor in the cycle lane from George Street. Now what idiot would do that and what idiot would allow it. Has PP finally got a job?

strangebuttrue? wrote:
Looking at the plans not a lot of change - assuming I have picked up the final copy. Was amazed to see they are not proposing to take out any traffic lanes. They are however using their usual weapon of choice – traffic lights, a few more, and phasing of them along with cycle lanes to encourage cyclist to get in the way of other road to make driving a car a little more time consuming and frustrating.

Most notable are the additional traffic lights controlling Fishergate to Paragon Street. I am sure this will be used to maximum effect to create queues on Tower Street heading towards Paragon using the Councils preferred traffic light policy of having lights change to red when vehicles get to the first road sensor loop but otherwise leaving them on green if no traffic is approaching whilst those already at the junction at a red are wondering WHY!!!!

As an aside has anyone else noticed the pedestrian crossing lights on Paragon Street have, for the past few weeks, been changing to red for no apparent reason every six cars or so. You will have noted though that whoever has dug a hole there has nicely covered it with a steel plate which handily seems to be just over the sensor in the cycle lane from George Street. Now what idiot would do that and what idiot would allow it. Has PP finally got a job?

I had noticed the latter item last week being stopped several times for no apparent pedestrian or cycle traffic, well spotted for finding the cause. I don' think there is any major road within the Ring Road that is not subject to roadworks of one sort or another at the moment. If they are resurfaced properly it lasts less than a month before a utility has to dig a hole as all the compaction has fractured a pipe or split a cable. I've seen better road surfaces in Eastern Europe, perhaps the Bulgarian government is right, we should emigrate there - property is cheap, cyclists don't get what they want all the time, and there are no mobility scooters!

bob the builder wrote:

strangebuttrue? wrote:
Looking at the plans not a lot of change - assuming I have picked up the final copy. Was amazed to see they are not proposing to take out any traffic lanes. They are however using their usual weapon of choice – traffic lights, a few more, and phasing of them along with cycle lanes to encourage cyclist to get in the way of other road to make driving a car a little more time consuming and frustrating.

Most notable are the additional traffic lights controlling Fishergate to Paragon Street. I am sure this will be used to maximum effect to create queues on Tower Street heading towards Paragon using the Councils preferred traffic light policy of having lights change to red when vehicles get to the first road sensor loop but otherwise leaving them on green if no traffic is approaching whilst those already at the junction at a red are wondering WHY!!!!

As an aside has anyone else noticed the pedestrian crossing lights on Paragon Street have, for the past few weeks, been changing to red for no apparent reason every six cars or so. You will have noted though that whoever has dug a hole there has nicely covered it with a steel plate which handily seems to be just over the sensor in the cycle lane from George Street. Now what idiot would do that and what idiot would allow it. Has PP finally got a job?

I had noticed the latter item last week being stopped several times for no apparent pedestrian or cycle traffic, well spotted for finding the cause. I don' think there is any major road within the Ring Road that is not subject to roadworks of one sort or another at the moment. If they are resurfaced properly it lasts less than a month before a utility has to dig a hole as all the compaction has fractured a pipe or split a cable. I've seen better road surfaces in Eastern Europe, perhaps the Bulgarian government is right, we should emigrate there - property is cheap, cyclists don't get what they want all the time, and there are no mobility scooters!

I'm sure a whip round could be arranged to buy the moaning site idiot a one way ticket to Bulgaria.

I'm sure a few of us proper cyclists could whip up some funds and send you off to Bulgaria by means of a high powered viking caterpault!

Anyway... at the moment Deangate by the Minster entrance is an absolute disgrace. The ENTIRE carriageway has been blocked, leaving just less than 2 meters width in places for people to get past.

If this was a normal car-carrying road, the rebuilding of the carriageway would be getting done one side at a time, with temporary traffic lights to control the flow of traffic through the single lane, and after one side had been completed the works would move over to the other side. But instead, because "They're Only Cyclists" the whole road has been blocked and cyclists told to get off and walk. Shame this wasn't being done during the Tour De France to show off what york is REALLY like when it comes to cycling. a few green lanes and white lines making narrow cycle lanes where there isn't room and on-pavement cycle lanes which take longer to navigate than staying on the road is NOT CYCLING PROVISION, and when a contractor closes off a cycle route like Deangate it just epitomises attitudes towards cyclists. Last year we had Southgate Construction close off the end of Regent Street for no reason, with no advanced warning and no signs on Heslington Road to warn of this, and only so as to create a compound that only ever held a maximum of 12 bricks inside!

bob the builder wrote:

strangebuttrue? wrote: Looking at the plans not a lot of change - assuming I have picked up the final copy. Was amazed to see they are not proposing to take out any traffic lanes. They are however using their usual weapon of choice – traffic lights, a few more, and phasing of them along with cycle lanes to encourage cyclist to get in the way of other road to make driving a car a little more time consuming and frustrating. Most notable are the additional traffic lights controlling Fishergate to Paragon Street. I am sure this will be used to maximum effect to create queues on Tower Street heading towards Paragon using the Councils preferred traffic light policy of having lights change to red when vehicles get to the first road sensor loop but otherwise leaving them on green if no traffic is approaching whilst those already at the junction at a red are wondering WHY!!!! As an aside has anyone else noticed the pedestrian crossing lights on Paragon Street have, for the past few weeks, been changing to red for no apparent reason every six cars or so. You will have noted though that whoever has dug a hole there has nicely covered it with a steel plate which handily seems to be just over the sensor in the cycle lane from George Street. Now what idiot would do that and what idiot would allow it. Has PP finally got a job?

I had noticed the latter item last week being stopped several times for no apparent pedestrian or cycle traffic, well spotted for finding the cause. I don' think there is any major road within the Ring Road that is not subject to roadworks of one sort or another at the moment. If they are resurfaced properly it lasts less than a month before a utility has to dig a hole as all the compaction has fractured a pipe or split a cable. I've seen better road surfaces in Eastern Europe, perhaps the Bulgarian government is right, we should emigrate there - property is cheap, cyclists don't get what they want all the time, and there are no mobility scooters!

Nonsense as usual.
I waited for ages there yesterday. The roadworks gubbins is in the way so you can't activate the sensor by riding over it.

In normal operation I've noticed it's very sensitive and does give cyclists and pedestrians good quick priority.

Magicman! wrote:
Anyway... at the moment Deangate by the Minster entrance is an absolute disgrace. The ENTIRE carriageway has been blocked, leaving just less than 2 meters width in places for people to get past. If this was a normal car-carrying road, the rebuilding of the carriageway would be getting done one side at a time, with temporary traffic lights to control the flow of traffic through the single lane, and after one side had been completed the works would move over to the other side. But instead, because "They're Only Cyclists" the whole road has been blocked and cyclists told to get off and walk. Shame this wasn't being done during the Tour De France to show off what york is REALLY like when it comes to cycling. a few green lanes and white lines making narrow cycle lanes where there isn't room and on-pavement cycle lanes which take longer to navigate than staying on the road is NOT CYCLING PROVISION, and when a contractor closes off a cycle route like Deangate it just epitomises attitudes towards cyclists. Last year we had Southgate Construction close off the end of Regent Street for no reason, with no advanced warning and no signs on Heslington Road to warn of this, and only so as to create a compound that only ever held a maximum of 12 bricks inside!

Agree with all of this.
Disgraceful disregard.

I would add the hospital from Bridge Lane. Big signs saying cyclists dismount. Yes I will... When drivers have to get out and push at the main entrance.
Now they've reversed the one way system and put in a metal barrier blocking the way for cyclists. WTF ?