A new ‘Implementation Plan’ for improving York’s transport systems has been released by the City of York Council, to be discussed by its Elected Members on 14th November.
Among numerous proposed changes are plans for increased Blue Badge parking spaces to be provided in the city, as well as more disabled spaces on buses.
Creating a priority bus route is another aim, alongside encouraging more people to use the Park and Ride service. 20mph speed limits would also be applied to more residential roads in York as part of the Council’s commitment to lowering road accidents.
The proposed changes in the Council’s Implementation Plan intend to be rolled out from 2024 to 2026. Specific details about what additional funding will be needed to make these changes are also included in the plan, aiming to stay realistic to the Council’s financial limits.
The plan has been introduced to provide active steps for delivering the Council’s Local Transport Strategy, adopted in July 2024. This strategy has laid out principles for the city’s transport developments to conform to, such as reducing carbon emissions and making roads safer.
In a press release from the City of York Council, James Gilchrist, Director of Transport, Environment and Planning said:
“[The Implementation Plan] will allow us to prepare for new funding opportunities and to put York forward as a place to pilot new ideas, making the case for sustained investment that will bring about the long-term change our city needs.”
Between November 2023 and February 2024 the Council investigated public opinion on York’s transport in its Big Transport Conversation, hearing from over 2000 residents to inform the Local Transportation Strategy.
It found that many people felt socially isolated as a direct result of insufficient transport connections. Many also felt that the city must bring its transport infrastructure in line with the demands of an increasingly modernised country, making reliable transit a priority.
Responses to proposed changes to address such concerns were largely positive, with 88% of Big Transport Conversation respondents supporting plans to extend bus networks and 85% supporting plans to improve pedestrian and cycling routes, among other proposed policies.
With the Local Transport Strategy’s aims reaching to 2040, the Implementation Plan is the Council’s initial step in their long-term commitment to improving York’s transportation.