In the second of our ‘your questions answered’ series we are looking at how people will walk and cycle through York Central and its connections with the wider city.
How can you walk and cycle through the York Central site?
Ensuring easy access for pedestrians and cyclists to and through the York Central site is a key priority for the Partnership. The current points of access, including (1) the Wilton Rise footbridge, (2) Marble Arch tunnel, (3) the western entrance to the Railway Station and (4) the Leeman Road underpass, are poor quality and, in some cases, inadequate for cyclists, pushchairs or those with mobility issues.
The development of York Central will see dramatic improvements to the accessibility of the site, creating new and improved links to surrounding communities and to the existing city centre. A variety of new streets, cycleways and paths within the site will allow for easy navigation through York Central.
The plans below outline how people will be able to walk and cycle to and through York Central and the key principles behind this.
Plan 1 – Proposed pedestrian routes for York Central
Plan 2 – Proposed cycling routes for York Central
1. How we are improving routes for pedestrians and cyclists
There are a number of objectives behind the design of the new network of streets and cycleways. These are focused on promoting walking and cycling as a safe, easy and rapid way to travel to and through the site.
- Safer routes – A series of open and well-lit streets, paths and cycleways that benefit from natural surveillance from homes, businesses and continuous use of public spaces. All routes will also be designed to ensure they meet the needs of those with visual and other mobility restrictions and allow them to travel around the paths safely.
- Segregated routes – Key pedestrian and cycle routes will be segregated from vehicles, improving safety and making it easier for people to reach their destination either within York Central or the surrounding communities.
- Accessible routes – The new routes will have more appropriate gradients and much wider paths than the current network (including Leeman Road), making it easier, safer and more accessible, particularly for those with wheelchairs, buggies, guide dogs and cycles or those carrying luggage.
- Improved routes – The new and improved network of streets will provide a series of direct routes to reach the city centre, surrounding communities and destinations within York Central. The routes and journeys people make around York Central will change and they will discover new routes into the city and to the station.
2. Walking and cycling to the city or station from St Peter’s Quarter
- You will be able to access the Leeman Road tunnel and Marble Arch using a dedicated pedestrian connection (shown in purple on the map below) through the museum during its opening hours.
- Outside of these hours, a safe and well-lit route will be available to the south of the National Railway Museum. This route has been optimised by allowing the best available access across the National Railway Museum’s south yard.
- A new pedestrian route (shown in blue on the map below) into St Peter’s Quarter could be created which will connect people to the existing route through the museum or to a new route connecting them to the station and the city centre through the museum’s south yard or park.
- As a consequence of these proposals, the new route will have the following impact on walking distances and time from St Peter’s Quarter:
- St Peter’s Quarter to Marble Arch: a 636 metre journey increases to 700 metres, taking 49 seconds longer for pedestrians
- St Peter’s Quarter to the western entrance of the Railway Station reduces: from 700 metres to 630 metres and is 53 seconds faster for pedestrians
- There will be an increase of 19 second for cyclists
Plan 3 – Proposed routes to the city centre and train station from St Peter’s Quarter
3. Walking and cycling to the city or station from the Leeman Road ‘Island’ community
- There will be a wide choice of routes available from the Leeman Road underpass if you are walking and cycling into York Central, or through to the city centre or the station.
- In many cases residents will benefit from a reduction in journey distance and time when heading to and from the station from this area, because there will be an increased number of more direct routes available to them, depending on the path taken.
- More people will be using the routes, visiting the shops, bars, cafes and public spaces. In addition, the streets and public spaces will benefit from natural surveillance from the homes and offices and much improved street lighting meaning the routes will be safer.
- The changes to journey distance and time for residents travelling to and from other parts of Leeman Road, Salisbury Terrace and Kingsland Terrace will be similar to those from St Peter’s Quarter outlined above.
Plan 4 – Potential routes from Salisbury Terrace and Kingsland Terrace to the city centre and station
4. Improved connections to the south
- There will be a new, or improved, footbridge over the railway lines to connect York Central with Holgate Road, using either Wilton Rise or Chancery Rise.
- The footbridge will have a ramp instead of steps to improve accessibility for those with mobility issues, using wheelchairs, prams and buggies and cyclists.
- Improvements will be made to the route to Holgate Road, whether taken along Wilton Rise or provided along Chancery Rise.
Plan 5 – the proposed new routes, which will provide improved pedestrian access from the south
5. Pedestrian and cycle access to the city and train station from Water End
- Cyclists and pedestrians travelling from Water End will have a more direct route to the station and into the city centre via the new spine road through the site, as shown in pink on the plan below.
- As well as a new dedicated pedestrian and cycle bridge alongside Water End bridge, a new segregated cycle route from the west of the city will run parallel to the new main road through the site, providing an attractive alternative to Poppleton Road and Bootham Road as a route to the city centre.
Plan 6 – Proposed pedestrian and cycle routes from Water End to the city centre
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