York MP Julian Sturdy to hold talks on transport

10:18am Thursday 31st May 2012 in News

A YORK MP was today staging the first of a series of transport talks with business leaders after saying more needs to be done to tackle the city’s congestion problems.

Julian Sturdy, who represents York Outer, has set up a working group to discuss issues surrounding transport infrastructure which he said threatens York’s ability to keep pace with rival cities.

Today’s meeting will be attended by representatives from York Racecourse, the Shepherd Group, Northminster Business Park, the University of York, Science City York, Visit York and Cellhire, as well as from City of York Council, the Federation of Small Businesses and York Economic Partnership. York Central MP Hugh Bayley will also attend.

Mr Sturdy said: “I am delighted so many influential business leaders have joined the transport working group, which I am determined will be strictly non-political and rather an expression of local businesses’ concerns.

“Our great city has enormous potential for the future, but it will be undermined unless we are able to tackle some of our pressing transport infrastructure problems.

“I firmly believe this working group is a positive starting point as we look to draw up a list of key priorities.”

Comments(23)

RoseD says...
10:37am Thu 31 May 12

Restore the Haxby railway stop. Ultra light rail. Re-use old train lines if possible or do what Gosport/Fareham have done and pave them over and allow ONLY buses and bikes. Medium vans driving thru city centre for those who cannot walk well but dont really want to drive thru it w their blue badges: this service must be frequent. More buses that run longer and more often--> want a lively city? Ensure that ppl can get in and OUT relatively frequently and to a wide variety of locations with at minimum 30 min service until 11 pm. Have a car registered to a york address? Get a bus pass for free or super-low-cost travel. (this last b/c years ago we drove since with 3 bus fares driving was cheaper). Just a few ideas, surely there are more. Oh and have the No 5 go down Lord Mayors Walk and to Stonebow then carry on to the regular route.

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Barfield24 says...
10:58am Thu 31 May 12

Simple.....and not rocket science, just turn the traffic lights off, save energy and free the city cetre traffic up....
Although they (the council) will probably pay a consultant in excess of £1000 a day to suggest this officially!

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Even AndyD says...
12:06pm Thu 31 May 12

A agree with Rose, although more buses are not the answer unless they can bypass queuing traffic. Poppleton Rd into York for example just sees bus users stuck in the same gridlock as cars.

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Alf Garnett says...
12:44pm Thu 31 May 12

Barfield24 wrote:
Simple.....and not rocket science, just turn the traffic lights off, save energy and free the city cetre traffic up....
Although they (the council) will probably pay a consultant in excess of £1000 a day to suggest this officially!
Fine on traffic lights. It's been done elsewhere on the mainland with great success. However, the city centre intra-muros must be kept car free except for residents and disabled drivers, though only at specified times in the latter case. York needs to look at what other cities do.

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Jackanory2 says...
12:48pm Thu 31 May 12

Public transport costs too much, and depending on where you live some services aren't great. I also think they should totally pedestrianise the town centre. Stop Cars/Buses from going along Coppergate between 8am-8pm, also the top of piccadilly after the roundabout near tesco, and also fossgate, Iam sure there are more but I only really see this side of town.

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far2bizzy says...
1:25pm Thu 31 May 12

I hope Mr Sturdy is asking the business leaders what they are doing to introduce flexible and remote working practices to reduce traffic volume at rush-hour

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who are ya says...
1:39pm Thu 31 May 12

If they ever get the old Suger beet factory site built on then why not use Water Taxis into the city. No traffic lights to stop at maybe some yobs on Cliftton bridge throwing things but apart from that should be ok.When they build the park and ride at Poppleton, why not use the Harrote to York train or use a regular train/tram on the line?

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yorkshirelad says...
3:34pm Thu 31 May 12

Tories asking buisness about transport... er won't that just be more roads, more roads and er, more roads?

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BL2 says...
3:46pm Thu 31 May 12

Opening up lots of the closed off roads and removing speed humps and chicanes would help enormously!

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Mentos says...
3:54pm Thu 31 May 12

Oh good idea BL2. And let the speed nutters raise the death level. Do you remember what Huntingtom Road was like?

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greenmonkey says...
4:08pm Thu 31 May 12

Yes RoseD has some good ideas - just hope they dont spend all their time banging on about dualling the ring road when there's no money for it and not likely to be, given the cost of another bridge over river and railway. Cheap public transport that runs until 11pm on key radial routes to main population centres would move us on in the era of high cost fossil fuels. And while we are at it a free city centre shuttle bus serving station, hospital and main car parks would make life easier for elderly and disabled and remove need for them to drive through so called 'footstreets'!!

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
4:39pm Thu 31 May 12

greenmonkey wrote:
Yes RoseD has some good ideas - just hope they dont spend all their time banging on about dualling the ring road when there's no money for it and not likely to be, given the cost of another bridge over river and railway. Cheap public transport that runs until 11pm on key radial routes to main population centres would move us on in the era of high cost fossil fuels. And while we are at it a free city centre shuttle bus serving station, hospital and main car parks would make life easier for elderly and disabled and remove need for them to drive through so called 'footstreets'!!
Yeah, what about a free city centre bus? Belfast, Bradford, Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield and Wolverhampton each have one and Manchester has three. Why can't we have one?

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Frodo Baggins says...
5:14pm Thu 31 May 12

Jackanory2 wrote:
Public transport costs too much, and depending on where you live some services aren't great. I also think they should totally pedestrianise the town centre. Stop Cars/Buses from going along Coppergate between 8am-8pm, also the top of piccadilly after the roundabout near tesco, and also fossgate, Iam sure there are more but I only really see this side of town.
When you say "pedestrianised" I hope you mean no bikes either?

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again says...
5:40pm Thu 31 May 12

Frodo Baggins wrote:
Jackanory2 wrote:
Public transport costs too much, and depending on where you live some services aren't great. I also think they should totally pedestrianise the town centre. Stop Cars/Buses from going along Coppergate between 8am-8pm, also the top of piccadilly after the roundabout near tesco, and also fossgate, Iam sure there are more but I only really see this side of town.
When you say "pedestrianised
" I hope you mean no bikes either?
Guess that's what 'totally pedestrianise' meant?

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Smiler says...
5:48pm Thu 31 May 12

Alf Garnett wrote:
Barfield24 wrote:
Simple.....and not rocket science, just turn the traffic lights off, save energy and free the city cetre traffic up....
Although they (the council) will probably pay a consultant in excess of £1000 a day to suggest this officially!
Fine on traffic lights. It's been done elsewhere on the mainland with great success. However, the city centre intra-muros must be kept car free except for residents and disabled drivers, though only at specified times in the latter case. York needs to look at what other cities do.
Whilst i completely agree, I do not see why to allow disabled people into the centre in their cars. this is open to abuse. a more sensible option would be to extend the current carpark above Fenwicks to be one floor for shop mobility (disabled badge holders) only. keep everyone but residents out.

Another thing on the traffic lights.. The lights on Gillygate were out earlier this week and there was NO traffic jams. a journey that usually takes 10-15 mins took 30 seconds and i let a few cars out.

In the summer months, why not use the British sugar plant as a car park and use a river bus? same at naburn? especially for tourists, they would love that.

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Even AndyD says...
7:00pm Thu 31 May 12

Can't agree with the disabled comments, Smiler. Some may abuse the system, but most don't - not everything in the Daily Mail is true you know!

I've two disabled children and if I want to get them to (say) York Explore, then a car park above Fenwicks is about as much use as a chocolate fire-guard! The whole point of disabled access is so people can be taken right to where they need to be!

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Alf Garnett says...
7:25pm Thu 31 May 12

BL2 wrote:
Opening up lots of the closed off roads and removing speed humps and chicanes would help enormously!
Oh yes, very droll.

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Alf Garnett says...
7:33pm Thu 31 May 12

Smiler wrote:
Alf Garnett wrote:
Barfield24 wrote:
Simple.....and not rocket science, just turn the traffic lights off, save energy and free the city cetre traffic up....
Although they (the council) will probably pay a consultant in excess of £1000 a day to suggest this officially!
Fine on traffic lights. It's been done elsewhere on the mainland with great success. However, the city centre intra-muros must be kept car free except for residents and disabled drivers, though only at specified times in the latter case. York needs to look at what other cities do.
Whilst i completely agree, I do not see why to allow disabled people into the centre in their cars. this is open to abuse. a more sensible option would be to extend the current carpark above Fenwicks to be one floor for shop mobility (disabled badge holders) only. keep everyone but residents out.

Another thing on the traffic lights.. The lights on Gillygate were out earlier this week and there was NO traffic jams. a journey that usually takes 10-15 mins took 30 seconds and i let a few cars out.

In the summer months, why not use the British sugar plant as a car park and use a river bus? same at naburn? especially for tourists, they would love that.
Yes, good point. I'd go for free transport from P and R for disabled people. I'd even be prepared to see council tax rises to pay for that sort of thing. No I'm not disabled, physically. You are of course, absolutely right about traffic lights. Where there is no "natural priority" such as minor roads intersecting with an A road and particularly in urban areas, no road should have priority. Experience in Holland and Germany has shown that drivers approach such junctions more carefully and actually look at each other and also at pedestrians. A completely new approach to urban mobility is required. The old systems of more roads and ever more complex signage, road markings and lights is not the answer.

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Guy Fawkes says...
9:05pm Thu 31 May 12

Move as much activity that generates car use out of the city centre as possible. That means getting the Monks' Cross expansion built and open ASAP, upgrading the outer ring road and encouraging all businesses except tourist-centred ones to move out to sites around it. Then upgrade the P & R so that it's actually any use for tourists (i.e. allow them to leave their cars there overnight and run the buses 24/7), and then - and only then - make parking in the city centre for non-residents so difficult and expensive that only millionaires and the insane would try to do so.

The end result will be that workplaces and businesses people need to visit by car (e.g. supermarkets) will be located where the traffic can be coped with, there will be a viable way for visitors to be able to enter the city centre without having to drive in, and residents' cars and service vehicles will be able to use the city centre more easily.

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yorkiemum says...
10:48pm Thu 31 May 12

Drove through Tang Hall/Heworth today about 5ish wondered why there wasn't a lot of traffic got to traffic lights and found out why... they wern't working!!! Mmmmmm!!!!

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Bigwood says...
9:40am Fri 1 Jun 12

Start by putting a yellow box or keep clear markings on the new roundabout alteration at the A19/A1237 at Rawcliffe. That might stop the morons queueing straight across it blocking in traffic trying to leave York on the A19. All these improvements have done is get traffic across that roundabout quicker so it gets to the next roundabout quicker then backs up right back to the place its meant to improve. The queue heading out of York at peak times is horrendous. Total waste of time and money these ''improvements'' have been.

I suppose it would help if people had the sense and common decency not to block traffic leaving York on the A19 but that would be too much to ask for.

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MouseHouse says...
12:41pm Fri 1 Jun 12

the time has come to ban all private vehicles from inside the area inside the City Walls (bar residents). This is a decision the council will make in ten years time anyway so may as well get it done now.

Also why are businesses being asked for an opinion? Businesses can look after themselves for once thanks you.

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Guy Fawkes says...
8:25pm Fri 1 Jun 12

Also why are businesses being asked for an opinion?



Because they contribute a lot to York's economy through the business rates they pay and the people they employ (who pay council tax).

Businesses can look after themselves for once thanks you.


In many cases, that includes the option of moving away from York, taking their business rates and their staff with them.

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