YORK'S council transport leader has called for city groups to tell him what the city needs to make social distancing easier for cycling and walking.

The sustainable travel group Sustrans urged the council to use its share of the £250 million national Covid-19 cycling fund announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to prevent a shift away from public transport increasing pollution in the city.

Its North of England director Rosslyn Colderley said: “There is a real risk that after lockdown the car will become the default method of transport."

York Cycle Campaign (YCC) has called on the council to combine the money with £500,000 already allocated to cycling schemes in the city this year to upgrade the city's sustainable transport network, including links to nearby villages.

Transport executive member Cllr Andy D'Agorne, said: "I am urgently working with officers to implement more measures within the next few weeks that respond to the government guidance, and I very much welcome the support and encouragement from local organisations such as York Cycle Campaign, York Civic Trust, York Ennvironment Forum, York Bus Forum etc."

A spokesman for YCC said when the £500,000 had been allocated to projects before the epidemic: "None of us had any inkling how dramatically our lives would change in the coming months.

"The situation is now very different and most of the proposed measures do not address the unique challenges we face with the Covid crisis including the need to remain socially distant and the problems associated with using public transport."

The council has made changes to Bishopthorpe Road and Castle Mills Road to help cyclists and pedestrians during the lockdown.

Nearly 300 people have signed a YCC petition calling for changes to the city's pedestrian and cycling provision to allow social distancing and help exercise as a result of the coronavirus pandemic..

They want

  • 3 metre wide pavements at the busiest locations such as near shops and parks and where this reduces the road to less than four metres for it to be made one-way.
  • Safe cycling routes created on main routes with bollards and temporary cycle lanes.
  • Existing cycle lanes surfaces improved, particularly on Tadcaster Road and Fishergate, and cycle lanes widened to 2 metres.
  • Barriers on walkways and cycle ways that have to be touched by hand to be removed and when there are not cattle on Hob Moor stray, for gates to be left open.
  • A direct north-south cycle link across the city centre and traffic improvements to The Groves fast tracked.

Projects allocated to the £500,000 funding currently include improvements to:

  • Access at the University of York particularly links between its campuses.
  • The High Petergate, Minster Yard, Deangate, Goodramgate, Aldwark, Hungate, Navigation Road and Walmgate cross city centre route
  • Rougier Street and Tanners Moat junction
  • to the route from New Walk riverside path via Hospital Fields Road and Imphal Barracks to the University of York
  • James Street / Lawrence Street / Regent Street junction
  • Accessibility issues caused to barriers on the existing network
  • Skeldergate
  • Fulford Road near the Frederick House sit
  • Access to the Foss Islands Path near the humpback bridge on Tang Hall Lane
  • South Bank / Bishophill area cycle routes
  • Manor Lane / Shipton Road junction

The £500,000 fund also covers investigating improvements to the Fishergate Gyratory and the path from the River Ouse south of Millennium Bridge to Bishopthorpe Road, and pedestrian crossing schemes.