New backing for traffic crossing on Stray as Harrogate Ramblers push for better walking routes

The proposals by North Yorkshire County Council aim to install a new signalised toucan crossing on Wetherby Road at Slingsby Walk where two popular cycle and walking routes meet.

The Harrogate Group of the Ramblers Assoication, which was first formed in 1936, says it “strongly supports” the new crossing.

A spokesperson said: “By far the most popular way of getting around Harrogate and the suburbs without using a car is on foot.

"As a means of transport it is used by in large numbers by virtually all age groups."It is good for people’s health, it is convenient and it is good for the planet.

"We believe more could be done in Harrogate to encourage walking and make it safe and enjoyable but the proposed Stray crossing is a good start.”

As the debate over whether the town should embrace a less car-dominated future continues to burn, Harrogate Ramblers, which has more than 350 members, has outlined its own strategy for what it believes would be a better future in a recent document called Proposals for the Promotion of Walking in Urband Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The Slingsby Walk crossing project has met with fears from the car lobby that the new traffic lights will slow down traffic on this often-congested major road through Harrogate.

But Harrogate Rambling says additional new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists are required at the following locations:

Ripon Road at the junction with Duchy Road

Otley Road at the junction with Park Avenue and Beech Grove

Oatlands Drive where it is crossed by Slingsby Walk

The bottom of Briggate in Knaresborough at the junction with Abbey Road

North Yorkshire County Council says that specialist modelling shows Slingsby Walk has the potential to substantially increase the existing number of cyclists – and help it get its sustainable transport goals back on track after a series of delays in recent years caused partly because of deep public divisions over the issue.

Coun Keane Duncan, the county council’s executive member for highways and transportation, says efforts would be made to ensure the new crossing did not add to traffic delays on the already-congested Wetherby Road.

“We recognise the concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road and at the meeting we discussed how we will use sensor technology to detect automatically when the crossing is clear to ensure no unnecessary delays to motorists.

“We are committed to doing more to create opportunities for people to walk or cycle for work, education and shopping as part of a balanced approach to travel.

The Harrogate Group of the Ramblers Association Harrogate Ramblers is also a footpath protection group and looks after local public footpaths on behalf of the whole walking community.

All local planning applications which might affect public footpaths and applications for footpath diversions are carefully scrutinised by the group to make sure that the path is fully protected

Early this year, Harrogate Ramblers produced a new colour leaflet outlining four new local walks allowing people to explore urban Harrogate, each four to five miles long.

The handy free guide includes maps of a North Walk, a West Walk, a South Walk, and an East Walk.

More information at www.harrogateramblers.org.uk/