North Yorkshire Council (NYC) has published plans for a 20mph zone on Arthur’s Avenue.
The details can be found on NYC’s website.
Traffic-Calming Measures
The plans show that traffic-calming measures will be required. This indicates that currently speeds are too high – the 85th percentile speed is above 24mph.
NYC is proposing speed cushions.
Active Travel England says that traffic-calming measures should be effective without causing issues for cyclists, and accessible for disabled people and people on tandems and tricycles.
Speed cushions are not recommended because they force cyclists to change their road position and that can bring them into conflict with drivers.
They are also difficult to navigate on a tricycle. In North Yorkshire’s proposals, there will only be 80cm between the kerb and the edge of a speed cushion.
NYC should therefore use a different form of traffic-calming, such as sinusoidal ramps.
To give NYC credit, a few parking spaces are to be removed to make way for the traffic-calming.
Crossing Point at Harrogate Grammar School
NYC is proposing an ‘informal pedestrian crossing point’ at Harrogate Grammar School.
Motor vehicles would have priority here, so it would not really be a crossing at all – just a suggestion as to where people could try and cross the road.
Surely we should be looking after our schoolchildren better. This ought to be a zebra crossing.