Whitby Town Council still objects to temporary closures of Swing Bridge
The authority is calling on North Yorkshire County Council to make some changes
Whitby Town Council has reacted to news from North Yorkshire County Council that the Swing Bridge will be closed as and when it is needed as well as temporary signage throughout this year.
Mayor Cllr Linda Wild said: "Once again, there’s no plan. County Highways asked for our input, but too late to be meaningful. We received a consultation email on Friday, for a meeting on Monday and saw the unmodified proposals announced on Tuesday morning.
"The Town Council’s view remains that it objects to the current approach to temporary closure of the Swing Bridge and that the Highways Department of North Yorkshire should work much harder to inform road users about what is going on and to mitigate the knock-on effects of closing-off the bridge at busy times."
In its response to the consultation on the County Council’s proposals, Whitby Town Council has called on highways chiefs to:
• Advise and sign-post appropriate pedestrian use of the Swing Bridge,
• Introduce additional variable vehicle signage and temporary traffic control at Helredale Road and Prospect Hill junctions,
• Make better use of existing Park and Ride facilities,
• Provide additional Park and Ride on the eastern approach to Whitby,
• Consider additional closures covering known events and festivals including (but not limited to) Goth, Steam Punk and music festivals,
• Install automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras on the Swing Bridge with appropriate enforcement,
• Publish and publicise a recommended diversionary route for traffic not otherwise able to cross the Swing Bridge,
• Publish and publicise arrangements to accommodate vehicles displaced from town centre parking.
The Town Council has invited representatives of NYCC Highways to attend its next meeting on Tuesday 29th March to discuss these proposals in more detail.