Campaigners in Harrogate believe that proposals for new pedestrian and cycle crossings could finally provide a long-awaited boost for sustainable transport in the town.
North Yorkshire Council is currently consulting the public through a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) on introducing crossings at Wetherby Road and Oatlands Drive, both of which would support people travelling on foot or by bike along Slingsby Walk. Harrogate District Cycle Action (HDCA) is urging its members to take part and make their views known.
HDCA was originally set up in 2023 as the Harrogate Cycle Group, following a request from the former Harrogate Borough Council to help shape plans for a local cycling network. However, members argue that progress has stalled, with little delivered despite repeated political commitments to active travel.
The group highlights that the last significant addition to Harrogate’s cycle routes was the Yorkshire Showground Greenway in 2014. Since then, schemes have faced setbacks: the removal of the Beech Grove modal filters in 2022, a lack of improvements in both 2023 and 2024, and the scaling back of sustainable transport measures in the delayed Harrogate Gateway project.
HDCA says its role is to collaborate with, and lobby, local authorities to secure better cycling facilities and encourage greener travel options. But it believes that, despite more than a decade of promises, North Yorkshire Council has not delivered meaningful change.
The council’s current proposals would see the new Wetherby Road and Oatlands Drive crossings controlled by traffic lights. Harrogate District Cycle Action is advising members to stress in their consultation responses that “the lights need to be set up to change to green quickly after the button is pressed” so that pedestrians and cyclists benefit fully.
Supporters of the new crossings can email: Area6.Boroughbridge@northyorks.gov.uk
More information about the proposed crossings is available at: North Yorkshire Council
Details on Harrogate District Cycle Action can be found at: harrogatecycleaction.org.uk
