What will happen next for notorious rat run for Harrogate drivers amid house building

Residents in the Kingsley and Bogs Lane area of Harrogate have endured six years of disruption from major housing developments in which grassy fields have disappeared in a haze of dust, disruption, potholes and road closures.

The latter have, in particular, impacted on Bogs Lane, which has become a key road almost in passing as it feeds into the Kingsley area at one end and Knaresborough Road and Forest Lane at the other.

After assessing the approved residential development by Redrow homes on land adjacent to Kingsley Road, the County Council’s Transport and Development team are proposing to prohibit motor vehicles on Bogs Lane in order to reduce traffic flows, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, creating a ‘quiet lane’ and removing a long established rat-run utilised to avoid the Starbeck Level Crossing barrier down time.

Although consultation took place last year over prohibiting vehicles on Bogs Lane, which is home to charity Henshaws College, North Yorkshire Council’s Highways department appears to be still weighing up the idea.

Residents in the area appreciate the merit of encouraging pedestrian and cycle access but there had been fears the closure plans would cause have a knock-on effects on congestion on Forest Lane Head, and Knaresborough Road.

But new paths and traffic systems in the Bogs Lane area are regarded to have improved the situation as regards its use as a rat run.

Coun Chris Aldred, who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley division on North Yorkshire Council, remains keen the area should have a better provision for non-vehicle travel.

But he now believes the pressure to block Bogs Lane to vehicular traffic at one end has eased.

"I do think we do need to keep on doing more when it comes to cycle routes and pedestrian green walkways.

"But drivers seem to have altered their behaviour and become more careful of using it as a rat run as the layout of the area changes.”

North Yorkshire Council has also undertaken traffic modelling for the A59/Forest Lane Head Signal controlled junction and the A59/Kingsley Road junction to take into account new households in the area.