“Unacceptable” last-minute changes to active travel scheme on “priority” cycling route do “nothing at all” for cyclists and focus on car parking ticket machines and a bus stop instead, say campaigners

Cyclists in Harrogate have hit out at the council’s “unbelievably disappointing, unambitious, and anodyne” decision to “strip all of the cycling elements”, including plans for 1.5m-wide protected cycle lanes, from a proposed active travel scheme on the Yorkshire town’s Victoria Avenue, despite the road being identified as a “priority route” for cycling earlier this year by the local authority.

Harrogate District Cycle Action, which has previously accused North Yorkshire Council of “failing our children” by not delivering significant cycling infrastructure improvements, believes that the revised scheme unveiled by the local authority this week “does nothing at all for cycling” and is another example of the council’s “jam tomorrow” approach to cycling infrastructure, while calling on residents to oppose the changes during the ongoing consultation period.

Earlier this week, as we reported on the live blog, North Yorkshire Council announced it was holding a month-long consultation on proposed changes to Victoria Avenue, which will begin in the autumn and include a new bus stop, improved pedestrian crossings, measures to prevent motorists from illegally driving straight ahead at a junction, the removal of some parking bays, and other public realm improvements.

However, despite the council as recently as February this year identifying the wide avenue as a “priority route” for cyclists and announcing that it intended to install protected cycle lanes with buffer zones on both sides of the road, the new plans fail to include any kind of cycling infrastructure, owing to what the council claims is “budgetary constraints”.

> Cycle lane plans scrapped from active travel scheme – despite council identifying road as “priority route” for cycling

The scheme was originally funded by Active Travel England in November 2020 to the tune of £1 million, and initially intended to focus on cycling, with £250,000 allocated to a proposed cycleway on Victoria Avenue, due to the road being regarded as a crucial part of plans to create a joined-up, off-road cycling route from Harrogate’s train and bus stations to Cardale Park.

But in a letter sent to residents announcing the consultation this week, the council said: “Unfortunately budgetary constraints mean that the previously envisaged cycle lanes cannot be included within this initial phase of this Victoria Avenue scheme.

“Following advice from Active Travel England, we have therefore concentrated on improvements for pedestrians and improvements to the public realm.”

That active travel U-turn has provoked a fierce outpouring of criticism from the Harrogate District Cycling Action (HDCA), who have responded to the changes by pointing out that the council is yet to deliver any of the four ‘cycling’ schemes funded in 2020.

“The new scheme for Victoria Avenue is unambitious, and all the cycling elements have been stripped out of it,” the HDCA wrote on its website.

“Among other things, the council plans to spend the ATF2 cycling money on car parking ticket machines and a bus stop.”

As part of its “suggested response” they have urged locals to send to the council to voice their opposition to the changes, the HDCA added: “The ATF2 funding was won for four ambitious cycling schemes. North Yorkshire now plans to deliver none of them, which is unacceptable.

“There is an urgent need to improve cycle facilities so that everyone from eight to 80 years old feels safe cycling into town. North Yorkshire should deliver its original promise of dedicated cycle tracks on Victoria Avenue – supplementing the ATF2 money with its own transport funds if necessary.

“Beech Grove also needs to be made safe for cycling, either by reinstating the modal filters or with another high-quality cycle scheme to make it genuinely safe. 20mph on its own will not work.

“Overall the council’s plans for Victoria Avenue are of marginal benefit at best, and are very unlikely to result in more walking into town.

“Spending cycling money on a bus stop and car parking ticket machines is wrong.”

> Councillors urge Tory-led council to “get its act together so people can get out of cars” after series of “failed and abandoned” cycling schemes

Criticising the details of the plan, which include new light-controlled crossings for pedestrians, the campaign group claimed the proposals would be “of marginal benefit – unless, as usual, the council sets the timings to favour motor vehicles and make people on foot wait ages to cross”.

“North Yorkshire Council wants to spend part of the money on a new bus stop, just up from the West Park end of the road,” the group continued. “We have no objection to the council building a new bus stop but not with cycling money.

“Whenever we ask for improvements to the cycle network, we are told by the council that it is not possible due to lack of funding. A lament about ‘budgetary constraints’ is even included in the Victoria Avenue consultation letter.

“Then when they do have funding for cycle improvements, they spend the money on a bus stop instead. It is not good enough.”

Referring to the plans to introduce new ticket machines for kerb-side parking bays, the group said it does “not support the use of precious and limited cycle funding to pay for car parking infrastructure”.

“The new Victoria Avenue scheme does nothing at all for cycling,” the HDCA concluded. “Given that the successful bid for this funding was to build four ambitious cycling schemes, that is unbelievably disappointing.

“The proposals are unambitious. It’s as though the council is trying to get rid of money it no longer wants by putting forward an anodyne scheme it hopes no one will object to. As far as we can tell, these are proposals that no local people asked for.

“Meanwhile, we and others have been asking again and again for improvements to make cycling to town safe, and the council is refusing and failing to do what is needed.

“The purpose of the Active Travel Fund is to enable modal shift from the private car to walking and cycling. These Victoria Avenue proposals are for very minor changes to what is already a pleasant street. It is extremely unlikely that, if implemented, they would result in more walking trips and less driving.”

The scathing criticism of the Victoria Avenue project represents the latest in an increasingly long list of seemingly failed attempts to implement safe cycling infrastructure in Harrogate, after phase two of the widely criticised Otley Road cycleway was scrapped, along with a Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove and a one-way system on Oatlands Drive – prompting the HDCA to accuse the local authority of “failing our children”.

> Campaigners accuse council of “failing our children” after failing to deliver “significant cycling infrastructure for nine years”

This narrative of constant failure from the Conservative-controlled local authority was continued in this week’s condemnation of the Victoria Avenue proposals.

“North Yorkshire has been making promises of ‘jam tomorrow’ for cycling for at least 10 years. It is always just about to deliver a meaningful cycling scheme, but then at the last minute it changes its mind,” the HDCA said.

“North Yorkshire say they are committed to delivering a cycle scheme on Victoria Avenue, but based on their track record over 10 years we simply don’t believe them.”

Last month, we reported that opposition councillors also took aim at the council’s apparently shoddy cycling record, urging the local authority to “step its game up” concerning active travel.

“To improve things you have to acknowledge there’s a problem. Active travel is absolutely terrible,” Liberal Democrat councillor Matt Walker said at a council meeting.

“Roads are gridlocked and full of potholes, buses are missed all the time between Harrogate and Knaresborough. We have to make improvements and the council needs to step its game up.

“It needs to get its act together so people can get out of cars and get around in a quick and environmentally-friendly way.”

Green councillor Arnold Warneken added: “The frustration of people who want to cycle in Harrogate and Knaresborough isn’t being taken seriously.”

> Council scraps £500,000 Harrogate cycle lane expansions… even though majority support plans

However, in its letter to residents this week, North Yorkshire Council said it is still committed to delivering some kind of cycling infrastructure on Victoria Avenue.

“The works proposed support North Yorkshire Council’s desire and vision to increase active travel in and around Harrogate town centre by proposing a number of measures to increase pedestrian safety as well as improved bus provision,” the letter said.

“Whilst unfortunately is it not possible to include the desired cycle lanes within this proposed scheme, the proposed works will not prevent the installation of the cycle lanes in the future, and this will be the ambition within a future funding bid. North Yorkshire Council is committed to delivering a cycle scheme on Victoria Avenue.”