Mayor of York & N Yorkshire David Skaith has published a
prospectus for his Active Travel Fund, which will be open to
applications by the end of the year.
Is he supported by the leaders of North Yorkshire and City of York
Councils?
Leeds City Council is consulting on exciting active travel plans
around the city centre. Credit where it's due, this is a competent and
ambitious council.
What are the plans, and how do they fit in with the council's
transport strategy?
I wanted to see the developing cycle infrastructure on the A660 Leeds
first hand, so I took my bike and rode from the Ring Road to the Town
Hall and back.
What are the cycle facilities on the route like, and what more is
still to come?
Scarborough and Harrogate were among the North Yorkshire councils
whose bids were rejected, but Catterick Garrison won funds for a town
centre regeneration project.
Scarborough Borough Council has taken the decision to go ahead with
the £700,000 restoration of the Cinder Track between Burniston and
Cloughton. The surface will be Flexi-Pave.
There's some decent cycle infrastructure next to the East Leeds
Orbital Route. The bigger issue is that West Yorkshire needs to
dramatically reduce traffic volumes, but it has just opened a massive
dual carriageway.
The Red Kite Mountain Bike Trail is a 20-mile mountain bike ride
starting and finishing in Wetherby. It takes bridleways along field
edges and through woods. Map, GPS, photos and route notes.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority's transport and buildings projects
are not aligned with its own decarbonisation goals, according to a
recently-published report. What does the report recommend WYCA does
about it?
The Malton to Pickering Cycle route was only launched on 9th May
2022, so I may be one of the first people to test it out. It's a
pleasant ride between two charming Yorkshire market towns.
It's quite terrifying cycling on the A170 near the White Horse, but
since North Yorkshire haven't provided any cycle infrastructure,
that's what you have to do.
According to East Riding Council, the Hornsea Rail Trail is in an
absolute state because it has to be in keeping with the rural area it
passes through. When it comes to cars, though, the council is happy to
boast about spending £6.5 million ploughing a massive new tarmac road
through the countryside.
Work is due to start in March on resurfacing the Leeds &
Liverpool Canal towpath between Apperley Bridge and Shipley. A section
of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is also included in the £2.7 million
programme.
The Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission yesterday published its
Yorkshire & Humber Climate Action Plan. What does it say about
active travel and housing developments?
A new edition of the Bradt Slow Travel guide to the Yorkshire Dales
has been published, written by Mike Bagshaw and Caroline Mills.
It contains some pleasing nature notes, worth reading for new tips
even if you know the Dales quite well. It's organised into six
chapters, representing six areas of the Dales, loosely defined. The
final chapter is Nidderdale, Harrogate & around.
This well-researched and logically-ordered book will help you
discover more about the Dales. You can pop it in your pocket when you
head off there, and it works even where there's no wifi coverage.
At the time of the Tour de France in 2014, Sustrans put together 21
stages of a Slow Tour of Yorkshire.
They are family-friendly rides on routes which aren't too busy with
traffic. My guide to the routes has map, notes, photos, and
suggestions for improvements.
The UCI 2019 road World Championships take place in Yorkshire from
21st to 29th September, with Harrogate as the central hub.
The event kicks off with para-cycling road races on the first
Saturday, and a mixed team time trial the next day. The final weekend
sees the elite women race from Bradford to Harrogate via Nidderdale on
Saturday, and the elite men take on a course from Leeds through the
Yorkshire Dales to Harrogate on Sunday.
Bradford Council have linked Shipley to Bradford, by adding the
Canal Road Cycleway onto the existing Greenway.
The result is a usable route. It's generally safe and convenient.
The Cycleway has priority over drives and side roads, except in
places where the route designers lost their nerve, and made it give
way.
I joined a cycling tour of York, and found it was an excellent way
to explore the city.
It's really a history tour, much like walking tours of York, but
it's a more relaxing and enjoyable way of getting between the
sights, and adds and extra element of fun.