The Harrogate & Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee (H&K ACC) of North Yorkshire Council (NYC) could fund the design of one of the Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) routes.
The decision will go before local Councillors at a meeting on Thursday 30th May 2024.
The proposed funding of the LCWIP design is on the agenda and in the reports pack as ‘ACC Seed Funding Pot’.
Background to the LCWIP
NYC commissioned consultants to write an LCWIP (or, since it was cycling-only, Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure Plan).
The consultants finished their work in 2019, and recommended concentrating on four corridors. They produced initial designs for those four cycle routes.
NYC subsequently failed to deliver any of the recommended infrastructure. The next 5 years were wasted.
Proposals to be Considered at ACC Meeting
Now the plan is for further design work on Bilton to Hornbeam Park (the blue route on the map above).
The ACC has £50,000 a year to spend, from the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Development Fund. Currently, £100,000 is available, from 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Some of the money could be used to fund the Bilton to Hornbeam Park design if Councillors agree.
£40,000 would be allocated to it. The total needed for the design is £78,130, and the balance would be met out of NYC’s Capability Fund money.
Also under consideration is funding the design of the missing link in the A59 cycle path – around 250m west of High Bridge, Knaresborough, before the path starts. £10,000 is needed for this design.
Both designs would be done by Align Property Services (APS).
Bilton to Hornbeam Park
The Bilton to Hornbeam Park route has a BCR of 8.49.
The route could:
- generate 1,612 extra cycle trips a day
- save 203,000 car km a year and
- save 17.7 tCO2e a year
The intention is to get the design for the route bid-ready, which would take until March 2025. Currently it is only at feasibility/concept stage.
Potential sources of funding to build the route include:
- the Active Travel Fund and
- the Local Transport Fund through the Mayoral Combined Authority
Elements of the Route from Bilton to Hornbeam Park
Some of the main elements of the route (Bilton Lane to Hornbeam Park) include the following.
Bilton Lane would be 20mph, with narrowed lanes and painted cycle symbols. There would be stepped cycle tracks either side of Skipton Road.
There would be a new cycle bridge over the railway.
There would be a stepped cycle track on the west side of Dragon Road for travel north. Dragon Avenue would be a cycle street for travel south.
The roundabout junction with Bower Road would be cycle-proofed.
There would be stepped cycle tracks either side of East Parade.
At the top of East Parade, the Odeon roundabout would be cycle-proofed. The roundabout at Marlborough Road would be compact.
The route would continue via South Park Road and Stray Rein.
The rest of the way to Hornbeam Park is fairly quiet, and would just have painted cycle symbols added to it.
Hornbeam Park Avenue itself would have stepped cycle tracks.
Missing Link in the A59 Knaresborough Road Cycle Path
There’s a proposal to spend around £10,000 on a design for the missing link in the A59 Knaresborough Road cycle path – around 250m after High Bridge where cyclists have to ride on the main road until the cycle path starts a little further up the hill.
It is a low-cost opportunity for a quick win. The design should only take APS one month to complete.
Building the missing link would cost around £300,000. Just 16 additional cycle trips per day are needed to make it good Value for Money.
Other Items to be Considered at the Meeting
The pack also includes reports on:
- 20mph for south and west Harrogate
- spending the remaining NPIF funds on various small projects
- a Neighbourhood Plan for Pannal and Burn Bridge
A separate active travel update report contains very little information.