A new road crossing has been proposed, possibly using traffic signals, installed on Wetherby Road at Slingsby Walk, where two popular cycle and walking routes meet.
Slingsby Walk is an important location, as it is near a hospital and schools and an off-road link with routes to the town centre, the Stray and the railway station. Under the Government’s targets for increased cycle use, Slingsby Walk shows the potential to have more than double the existing number of cyclists.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, is to consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday, 14 December 2022.
Cllr Duncan said:
We are committed to creating opportunities for people who want to walk or cycle for work, education, shopping or other reasons. This is clear in the Harrogate area through our Transforming Cities Fund gateway project and Active Travel Fund schemes to develop a safe, accessible network for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Slingsby Walk crossing could offer a significant addition to the town’s infrastructure, providing a safe, formal crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists who might be hesitant about using the link at the moment.
We recognise concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road. While an additional crossing would place extra pressure on the network, this needs to be weighed against the benefit to pedestrians and cyclists that already use this location and those that would if there was a formal crossing.
We need to consider the benefits a signalised crossing would bring to pedestrians and cyclists and the safety of vulnerable road users in this location to achieve a better balance between different modes of travel.
If approved, implementation of the crossing will be subject to a detailed design and safety audit before it could be introduced in 2023/24.
Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.
Councillor Pat Marsh believes the measures should go further:
I have been pushing for this for some time.
However, it does not go far enough crossings should be created across Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein to ensure Pedestrian and cyclists have safe access
Hopefully it would encourage more people to use this as a cycle route. I am not too sure traffic signals are right on such a busy Road as Wetherby Road, maybe a well signposted pedestrian crossing, but then it is about the safety of all. T
his would have more benefit to the cycling community than the cycle way proposed on Oatlands Drive which is in such isolation from the rest of the community at least Slingsby Walk would achieve more connectivity.
So a big thanks to the Highways Officers who met with me on site and listened and acted.
