As a new traffic masterplan is unveiled for York race days, STEVE CARROLL and MIKE LAYCOCK look at what the proposals mean and what residents think of them.

RESIDENTS have given a cautious welcome to radical plans to tackle York's race day traffic nightmare.

As reported in yesterday's Evening Press, City of York Council is planning a series of measures to deal with congestion and parking difficulties during major meetings, starting with the Ebor event on August 17-19.

The plans include the installation of barriers to stop all but local residents and businesses with permits driving in and out of the South Bank area between noon and 4pm.

Some South Bank residents said the barriers were a good idea - but with certain provisos.

Linda Jones, of Sutherland Street, said there was a problem with racegoers parking in the street and she welcomed the scheme - provided her daughter, Tracy Brown, was still able to park outside her home.

Tracy said she lived in Thirsk but worked at Bishopthorpe, and visited her mother for lunch most days. She hoped she would be able to get a permit to continue doing so during race meetings.

Fiona Winn, of Montague Street, said she did not believe there was a big problem with racegoers parking in her street and she feared the move might cause more disruption than it would cure.

But another resident said he believed the measures might assist in tackling problems.

Raymond Wheeler, of Balmoral Terrace, said his street did not experience any great race day parking problems, but he would wait to see how the Ebor trial went.

The traffic plan aims to finally crack the problem of severe congestion on race days in York. The traffic management plan used to regulate motor vehicles has been in place for about 60 years and, with the huge increases in vehicle ownership since then, York experiences major disruption.

With Royal Ascot at York coming to the city, City of York Council has taken the opportunity to review the archaic structures and put together a new plan.

A working party, consisting of the council, the Highways Agency, the police and Ascot traffic consultants, was set up last September to discuss the plan, but key elements were only agreed in the past few weeks. Its main aim is to direct all racegoers travelling by car and coach to Knavesmire by the A64.

This will be achieved by introducing temporary extra lanes to increase capacity and improving traffic flow around the A64, Sim Balk Lane and Tadcaster Road junctions.

Tadcaster Road will be closed to all out of city traffic from 11am until 2pm from the Tesco roundabout.

An alternative route will be in place for those people wanting to access Bishopthorpe village.

Knavesmire Road and Cample-shon Road will be blocked to traffic for the whole of each race day, with access to South Bank restricted between noon and 4pm.

Motorists will only gain entrance through the Bishopthorpe Road junction and will need a permit.

There will also be a blanket ban on traffic in certain streets between the Knavesmire and the railway line, but this does not include the South Bank exclusion zone.

It's a new strategy and its key elements are:

Concentrating road traffic at Bond Hill Ash junction on the A64. This junction will be disconnected from the city at key periods

Providing car parking away from residential areas

Concentrating public transport access on Knavesmire Gates

Protecting South Bank residential area

Using advance ticketing and consultation to find out how many cars and coaches will be arriving.

The Ebor trial will see the A64 lane controls in force, with the use of a slip and Top Lane for two city bound lanes of traffic.

Traffic will be managed around the Sim Balk Lane junction and new taxi and public transport arrangements.

New access and exit arrangements will also be in place for parking at Knavesmire gates.

Council chiefs say the plan will be trialled at next month's Ebor meeting because it is York Racecourse's biggest event.

They are confident that, if successful, it will form the basis of the Royal Ascot at York master plan.

The plan is not yet finalised, with signs to direct people to approach the city using the A64 still be constructed.

Council chiefs have stressed the Ebor arrangements are a trial, with everything subject to a review after the meeting.

Some key elements have already been tested, while the council will look to make improvements if not everything goes to plan.

Traffic staff, the police and the public will be asked for their comments following the Ebor trial.

What will these measures mean?

COUNCIL bosses hope the plans will bring significant improvements.

Officers estimate that traffic in Tadcaster Road will be at about the same level as for a busy York race meeting but, because of the measures at Sim Balk Lane, it will be moving with far greater freedom and queues will be much shorter.

Journey times on the road are expected to be similar to those on a non-race day. This means bus passengers will see their vehicles sticking to timetables.

Traffic through Bishopthorpe will also be greatly reduced and, it is hoped, that the traditional slow moving queue of traffic seen in the village on race days will become a thing of the past.

The cost of the trial will be about £14,000 - funded by Ascot. The total bill for the regular York meeting and the Royal Ascot meeting is expected to total £145,000, with funding coming from the racecourse and the Local Transport Plan.

Updated: 14:07 Thursday, July 08, 2004