CITY of York Council says it will do its utmost to minimise the disruption caused by massive roadworks across York over the next few years.

It says works will be programmed as much as possible to avoid peak traffic times and key events, such as race meetings and the Christmas market, and to work around school times and holidays.

The authority will also avoid conflict between schemes where possible and maximise the use of traffic management/closures to undertake multiple schemes at the same time. 

It will also try to maintain routes to key destinations, such as the hospital and station, maintain key pedestrian, cycle and public transport routes and avoid routing diversions/construction traffic through residential areas.

Mitigation measures include:

*Traffic modelling and adjusting signal times to reduce the impact of significant lane/road closures 

*Reducing the environmental impact of works, particularly when taking place overnight 

*Promoting sustainable transport to reduce the number of vehicles on the network during disruptive periods  

*Providing supplementary bus routes to maintain access to services.

*Providing advance notices/other information to allow residents/travellers to make informed decisions  about moving around the city. 

*Communicating with local residents, for example with drop in events, letter drops and leaflets.

The authority also says it recently introduced a permit scheme for all roadworks, including those by utilities, so that it has greater control over activities and more powers to control and penalise them.

"We will be working with the project leads to coordinate the works to reduce the impact as much as possible," said a spokesperson.

"The scale of the some of the projects means that works are difficult to suspend/remove once commenced.

"To enable everyone to plan ahead, there will be opportunities for the main council schemes to feed back at drop-in sessions - so people can speak to someone about the works and see the plans in person.

"Letters will be delivered to provide information about the schemes

"We’ll create dedicated web pages for each major scheme and a central page where any critical updates can be found e.g. drop in events or key dates of the scheme can be found.

"We’ll also be placing on-site’ signage at key areas around where the works are taking place."

They said the council's message was that York was open for business 'so please come and enjoy the city... But - please plan your journey ahead – you can find information on upcoming major works in the city at: www.york.gov.uk/roadworks.

James Gilchrist, Director of Transport, Environment and Planning, said York would be a 'much better place at the end of it,' but added: "You can't make an omelette without cracking eggs."