Otley Road Cycleway Phase 1 Review: Summary of Minor and Major Issues
Minor Issues
- Width of cycle tracks at Pannal Ash Drive, Hill Rise Close, Harlow Oval
- Overly sharp turns back onto the footway after Pannal Ash Drive and Hill Rise Close
- Tactile cycle paving placed in an odd position at Hill Rise Avenue,
- Reclaim the bit of verge on the SW corner of the Harlow Moor Road junction and make the crossing there a Toucan not a Pelican
- Purchase land from Yorkshire Water on the NW corner of the Harlow Moor Road junction
- Remove CYCLISTS DISMOUNT and END OF ROUTE signs near Harlow Chase
Major Design Issues
- Segregated cycle facility instead of Toucan at Arthurs Avenue, Pannal Ash Road, Harlow Moor Road, Manor Drive, and Cold Bath Road
- Extra space has been allocated to motor vehicles at Harlow Moor Road junction, leaving next to none for those on foot or on bikes. Redesign this junction in accordance with the Cycle Infrastructure Design guidance to which North Yorkshire is committed (see 1 above)
- Segregate cyclists and pedestrians west of Harlow Moor Road, ideally with a level difference
- Segregate cyclists and pedestrians east of Harlow Moor Road
- Replace the bus stop that creates a pinch point
- Redesign the route outside Charlie’s Place, with a segregated cycle track replacing car parking, continuing through the Manor Drive junction
- Segregate eastbound cyclists and pedestrians from outside the Coop to Cold Bath Road. Update 19th January 2022 – some limited sections are now segregated, but leaving a woefully narrow cycle track
- Approaching Cold Bath Road, commit to one quality design (segregated cycle track) that takes cyclists through the junction
Otley Road Cycleway Phase 1 Review
Agree with the analysis – what a mess and waste of money
Hi Imran,
Thanks for the comment. It’s just disappointing that the design is so poor and car-focused.
If the other sections can be built to a better design, including a cycle track out to new housing beyond Harlow Carr, it could still end up as a useful route.
Totally agree, well done for the analysis.
Fundamentally it seems to me that NYCC do not see cyclists as commuters on a valid form of transport, simply as leisure riders prepared to dawdle over journeys on a sunny weekend. Their refusal to even cycle the route says it all
On a purely practical level, surely they should see their mish-mash of styles and inconveniences to cyclists and pedestrians as unsatisfactory ?
No doubt NYCC will be hailing their ‘progess’ as proof of green ambitions, when it could have been so much more. We all need to keep pushing.
I agree. Let’s hope the next phase can be built to a better design.
Have taken a ride round on my trike this morning – starting from Harlow Moor Road shared cycle path. Generally agree with the comprehensive analysis. Pointing out though that the Cyclists Dismount sign before Harlow Chase has been taken down – perhaps because I pointed out the equality implications for inclusive cycling. Will be tweeting this and other points with photos as seems to be no way of including here.
The traffic lights for the left and right turning lanes on Otley Road, at the Harlow Moor Road junction, could surely have been used to allow traffic going straight-on to continue and for cyclist to cross Harlow Moor Road at the same time? It was practically impossible for me to reach the Toucan crossing button when waiting to cross northwards there given that I cannot stand and manipulate my trike. Again an equality failure.
I walked along Otley Road several times during November, December and January as construction was taking place. I started off feeling optimistic that at last we were going to get the long awaited Cycleway, but then optimism turned to pessimism as the construction progressed and I saw more and more improvements taking place to the road, with little evidence of new cycle paths on either side. Your excellent analysis of the end result confirms my feelings. I doubt if I will be using the new Cycleway, as cycling on Otley Road will be much quicker especially when the shared pavements in the vicinity of Harrogate Grammar School are overcrowded with pupils at the start and end of the school day.
When I attended public meetings in Harrogate Grammar School 4 years ago, and discussed the plans with councillors, I was aware the Cycleway was going to be a mixture of cycle lanes and shared usage pavements, but I was under the impression we were going to have something much better than what has been delivered: something that would look like a cycle path! I feel that the funding has been used primarily to improve Otley Road for motor vehicles by widening various junctions, and improving road surfaces, and by getting cyclists out of the way. What has been delivered for cyclists is completely substandard and inadequate as your analysis shows. Have NYCC used the funding exactly as planned, or have their plans been modified once the funding was obtained? Dare I ask: has funding been misappropriated?
I know this is just Phase 1, and we are being urged to reserve judgement until the full Cycleway route is completed, but sadly I have no confidence NYCC will deliver anything better in later phases unless they are called to account over the delivery of Phase 1, which seems to break all of the Cycle Infrastucture Design Guidelines.
Hi Eric, Thanks for your comment. I agree the key thing now is to learn lessons so as to build to a better design in future phases.