For as long as I can remember, there has been a zebra crossing on York Road, Acomb, near to the end of Severus Street. It was well-respected by motorists and had a good safety record.

Now, after many months of disruption and enormous expense, work seems to have finally finished on replacing it by a light-controlled crossing. This change has added to the street clutter and is less convenient for most users and, worst of all, there is now a sign painted on the footpath directing cyclists to ignore the lights, mount the footpath and whiz round a blind bend into Severus Street. A similar sign is on the footpath within the street.

These signs are downright dangerous and, sooner or later, a pedestrian and/or cyclistis going to be seriously injured.

Has no one done even an elementary risk assessment? There seems to be something very wrong in the council department responsible for road planning as almost every road “improvement” scheme for several years has been ill thought-out.

Colin Richardson, Hobgate, York.

• Mike Durkin, City of York Council’s project manager for transport and safety, says: “The zebra crossing on York Road, Acomb, has recently been converted to a signalised Toucan crossing that both pedestrians and cyclists can use. “This has been done as part of a wider scheme to create better conditions for cycling in this area, particularly for movements between Hob Moor and Water End, which is an important section of the city-wide Orbital Cycle Route.

“To enable cyclists to access the new crossing facility, some local sections of footway have been widened and designated for shared use. These have been carefully designed to minimise potential problems, and we will be closely monitoring how the new crossing is working. This will include carrying out a detailed safety review in a few weeks’ time.”