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21
Mar
Cycling infrastructure in Harrogate and Knaresborough ‘absolutely terrible’
Councillors have criticised North Yorkshire Council for not prioritising the needs of cyclists in Harrogate.
At a meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors, Alex Kay, the council’s senior transport planning officer delivered a presentation that included options for future cycle links in the town.
These included Bilton to Starbeck and Jennyfields to the town centre with cost estimates running into the millions.
In recent years the council has built a widely-criticised stretch of cycle route on Otley Road and abandoned the next phase, scrapped a Low-Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove and decided against creating a one-way system on Oatlands Drive.
Meanwhile, funding bids have been rejected by the government for new cycle paths on Knaresborough Road and Victoria Avenue.
Its flagship active travel scheme, the £12.1m Harrogate Station Gateway, has also been drastically scaled back following opposition from local businesses with only a small section of Station Parade now set to include a cycle lane.
Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat for Knaresborough West, criticised the state of the cycle infrastructure in the area.
He said:
Cllr Arnold Warneken, a member of the Green Party for Ouseburn, added:
With several of the proposals put forward by the council years from being built, Cllr Paul Haslam, an Independent for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said there are not enough “shovel-ready” schemes on the table.
The council’s predecessor North Yorkshire County Council undertook a much-publicised Harrogate Congestion Survey in 2019 which showed there was an appetite for improving walking and cycling infrastructure in the town so people are incentivised to leave their cars at home.
Cllr Philip Broadbank, a Liberal Dem for Fairfax and Starbeck, said:
However, Cllr John Mann, a Conservative for Oatlands and Pannal, defended the council and said it “hadn’t done a bad job” on active travel in his constituency.
Cllr Mann said:
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