York Guides

Paul Jeeves

(Yorkshire Post)

A REVOLUTIONARY transport project could see lorries barred from York's ancient streets and deliveries made by a fleet of electrically-powered vehicles to reduce congestion.
Trucks clogging up the city centre have become a major source of pollution and remain one of the biggest factors blighting York Council's attempts to tackle congestion. Plans have now been submitted to the Government to establish a freight interchange, which would see a depot for lorries established on the A64 on the outskirts of York.
Goods would be transferred at the depot onto smaller, electrically-powered vehicles which would then ferry the deliveries to retailers in the city centre.
The proposals are part of the city council's draft Local Transport Plan 2, which could see up to £31m of Government cash made available in York from next year until 2011.
Coun Ann Reid (Lib-Dem, Dringhouses and Wood-thorpe), York Council's executive member for planning and transportation, said: "I am extremely pleased with the whole transport document which has been drawn up following extensive consultation.
"But the freight element is very important, and it is something which we have not looked at in great detail in the past."
The freight interchange would aim to reduce the delivery rush-hour each morning; this would be replaced by a steady stream of journeys made by the electrically-powered fleet throughout the day.
It would be one of the first schemes of its kind to be introduced nationally in the wake of a similar pioneering project at Shaftesbury in Dorset, although freight interchanges have already been established on the Continent.
The radical approach to tackling freight transport in York is one of the main aspects to the city's draft transport plan, which will go out for public consultation this autumn before a final version is submitted to the Government next March.
The freight proposals are still in their early stages, and no date has been set when the blueprints may become a reality if the Government gives the go-ahead.
The city council is looking to build on the work that has already been done to reduce congestion in the first Local Transport Plan, which will see a total of £66m of Government and private-sector financing coupled with the local authority's money ploughed into the transport infrastructure by next year.
Park-and-ride schemes and the city's public transport has been targeted to reduce the reliance on cars, and congestion levels in York have been contained to the same as those in 1999.
But pollution remains a big concern, with five areas of the city identified as major trouble-spots, including Gillygate, the Nunnery Lane interchange and Holgate Road.
Coun Reid added: "Air quality is an issue which will be an increasingly important issue to the public, especially people who have young children. The transport issue is one of the main topics we as a council are looking to tackle.
"It relates to the quality of life for everyone living here and it is essential we maintain a vibrant city."
The draft transport plan also includes proposals to increase the pedestrianised areas in York city centre, as well as boosting the infrastructure of footpaths and cycleways.