Final design for regeneration of Piccadilly revealed

City of York Council has published its final design for an improved Piccadilly as part of the Castle Gateway masterplan, which it says will turn the street into a 'vibrant city neighbourhood.'

A spokesman said residents' voices were at the heart of designing the regeneration of large areas including Piccadilly, with a total of nine different events in 2019, aimed at residents, businesses and cyclists.

He said that led to the production of an open brief which has shaped the final design and set out the ambition for wider pavements for pedestrians, spaces for seating and planting, and an improved cycle route that linked in to a new River Foss pedestrian cycle bridge and crossing point over the inner-ring road.

There were two areas where there were compromises due to limits on space, the impact on Piccadilly’s role as a key public transport route or limited budgets.

"The first compromise relates to the desire from some residents for the road to be given a meandering effect to help reduce traffic speeds," he said.

"This would need the reconstruction of the whole road in order to follow a new path. This would be very expensive, and create difficulty for the many buses that use the route.

"However, we have used the flow of the pavements to create a gentle meander and there are also proposals to implement a 20mph speed limit once the scheme is complete."

The other compromise related to segregated cycle lanes as, even though Piccadilly was a wide road, it did narrow significantly on approach to the city centre and any bus route had to have a minimum width.

"The design work, which was shared openly with the public and cycling groups, highlighted that the road was too narrow to create segregated cycle lanes in the space available. This challenge was shared with cycling groups and potential ideas were welcomed. However, due to the constrained space no practical solutions were possible."

He said that instead of segregated cycle lanes, there were a number of measures to improve Piccadilly for cyclists as part of a new cycle route from the south of the city over the new bridge on to Piccadilly and the crossing point over the inner-ring road.

"Loading bays for deliveries and taxis will be placed in the pavement areas, removing potential obstructions from the road for cyclists," he said.

"This will be achieved by removing on-street car parking and does not result in any reduction in road space for cyclists. The proposed speed limit of 20mph will also make it safer for cyclists.

"The extended pavement areas will also create a much safer environment for pedestrians, allow street planting and seating, and outdoor spaces for pavement café licences."

Andy Kerr, Head of Regeneration Programmes, the challenges and dilemmas faced when designing regeneration which met the varied and sometimes conflicting ambitions of residents had been laid bare.

He said the new layout struck a balance by prioritising pedestrians, cyclists, and buses, 'along with all the other massive wins for active and sustainable travel within the Castle Gateway masterplan.'

"Our highways team is working with the developers on Piccadilly to ensure that the design proposals are met. As each development progresses on Piccadilly, the look and feel of the area will change section by section."