Harrogate District Cycle Action Group have said they welcome the trial of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood(LTN) on Beech Grove and Lancaster Road.
The aim is to restrict traffic using the road and making it a more pleasant route for cyclists and pedestrians.
Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action Group:
2 way traffic is already difficult on Beech Grove due to the width of the road and car parking all along one side and Beech Grove/Lancaster Road is a regular cut through from Otley Road to Cold Bath Road and in reverse from the bottom of Cold Bath Road up the 1-way alley through to the corner of Beech Grove and Otley Road to avoid the 1 way town centre loop.
This makes the area hazardous for cyclists, unpleasant for residents and impossible for children to use the space on the residential streets.
When the Otley Road cycleway is built it will join with the proposed Victoria Avenue/Station Parade schemes to make it a key route into the Town Centre.
The County Council has been successful in securing funding for all the other schemes and we will see, for the first time a segregated cycle link into the Town Centre.
Whilst this is an experimental scheme for a 6 month period it is hoped that there will be a positive response to the proposals which means it can become a permanent part of the Towns Cycle Infrastructure.
The County Council consulted HDCA on the proposed scheme and they were positive about the approach being taken which will see no loss of car parking spaces, make it a nicer street for everyone and will mean a minimum disruption for those who have to access the area.
Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action Group:
If most residents from the area can be encouraged to walk or cycle to town, then any inconvenience from having to access the area by a different route by car should be negligible “ he added. “ We look forward to working with both NYCC and HBC on the other cycling and pedestrian schemes for which Government funding has been secured and which will hopefully be implemented in 2021.
If you would like to make comments on the scheme then please emailed to area6.boroughbridge@northyorks.gov.uk – the deadline is 14 August, 2021.
