York: High Ousegate and Spurriergate close for bollard work

High Ousegate and Spurriergate have closed and are to reopen on August 4, according to City of York Council

A council spokesperson previously told the Press that the sliding bollards are to be installed at the junction where the two streets meet.

Where the bollards are to be installed (Image: Dylan Connell)

The spokesperson said High Ousegate and Spurriergate will close to through traffic with no access to Spurriergate from Low Ousegate due to “safety reasons” while the work is carried out.

The entry points to the streets will be manned during working hours to direct vehicles and diversions will be in place for vehicles and pedestrians.

Spurriergate (left) and High Ousegate (right) have closed (Image: Dylan Connell)

The closures follow the reopening of Lendal on Friday (June 16) and High Petergate on June 10 with the new bollards in place.

They also come after York council bosses announced on Friday (June 16) that the council is to review space given to pedestrians in the city following the installation of the new bollards.

The bollards were first announced earlier this year by the Liberal Democrat-Green coalition running City of York Council to combat the threat of ‘vehicle as weapon attacks’.

Lendal (left) and High Petergate (right) have reopened with the new bollards in place (Image: Newsquest)

They are electrically operated and designed to move horizontally to block the entrances to the streets.

In May the Liberal Democrat-Green coalition was voted out of office and replaced by the Labour Party.

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The new Labour council has said it is to review the space around the bollards to maximise room for mobility scooters, wheelchairs, pedestrians and buggies.

The council also committed to act where obstructions are being placed on pavements in areas of the city where they are not licensed to be.

So far this pledge has seen sensors for the bollards in High Petergate moved to allow for better access for pedestrians on the pavement.

Labour’s executive member for transport Cllr Pete Kilbane said the designs for the bollards approved by the previous Liberal Democrat-Green administration made it difficult for disabled people to access the city using the pavement. 

Councillors Jane Burton and Pete Kilbane at High Petergate – the small white square on the pavement showing where a sensor stand has been removed to improve access (Image: City of York Council)

“We are trying to unpick the damage that this Liberal Democrat-Green scheme has caused,” he said.

“In so doing officers have engaged with those most adversely affected by new bollards as we don’t want to make a bad situation even worse."

But Cllr Nigel Ayre, Liberal Democrat leader in York, said the design of the bollards was “not a political decision”.

Cllr Nigel Ayre, Liberal Democrat leader in York (Image: Supplied)

“Technical plans such as these are drawn up by professional council officers, not councillors,” he said.

A council spokesperson previously told the Press that further bollards are to be installed in York to replace temporary barriers used for the Christmas market.

Plans from City of York Council showing where the bollards are going to be installed (Image: City of York Council)