Further to our report on Monday that the Cross Flatts Active Travel Neighbouhood scheme is to be delayed to allow for changes to be made, a virtual public meeting is to be held on Tuesday 29 September 2020 at 6pm.
The letter from Councillors (see below) stresses that the meeting is being held before changes are made to the scheme and notified to residents.
The letter restates the aims of the project, which are to:
- Create safer, quieter residential streets, using planters and changes to signing.
- Reduce the ‘through’ traffic to prevent vehicles from outside the area using the residential area as a short cut and to maintain as much residential parking as possible.
- Make it safer for children to play out
- Make it safer and more pleasant to walk or cycle to local cafes, shops and parks.
- Allow safer connections for local residents to the new cycle infrastructure that is due to be installed.
The agenda for the meeting includes feedback from emergency services and refuse collection as well as a Question and Answer section. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the meeting is being held online on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 842 4901 8384
Password: 530166
Questions can be submitted ahead of the meeting by emailing them to: connectingleeds@leeds.gov.uk (please put ‘Questions for Beeston ATN meeting’ in the subject line). You can ask questions during the meeting via the comments section in Zoom.
Make it safer for children to play out – aka encourage children from different households to mix and spread the virus plus damage parked cars.
If only there was a large area, ideally with grass and trees, within walking distance of this plan.
If you want to create a safer space for children to play out, why not use this money to make cross flatts park safer, with better lighting, cameras and policing to prevent antisocial behaviour?
I’d also suggest that not many people are cycling in the area for several reasons- getting up beeston hill after a shift at work on a bike is off putting; petty crime in the area means any bike owner seen storing a bike in a shed is likely to not have it terribly long; and not many workplaces have secure locations to store the bike at during a shift. Plus I would not feel safe cycling through the fiasco crime hotspot that has been created in Holbeck- the so called managed zone is a magnet for criminal activities.
The park is already much more safe & useable, thanks to the work of the Friends group and is well-used by the local community.
As for cycling., I live & cycle in the area. I have done so for the nigh-on 40 years that I’ve lived here. The problem isn’t hills, it’s cars. Thé increase in traffic volume, speeding & careless driving has been noticeable over the years. I’m also a keyworker, working shifts. & I live on one of the affected streets. The noise from cars (& quad bikes) day & night is dreadful.. Frankly, there were at least two brilliant things about lockdown: being able to cycle to work & back feeling safe., & without traffic fumes; and being able to sleep peacefully after a 12hour day or night shift. So these proposals look excellent to me. Anything that makes it less convenient to drive is good news for all our health & safety.
Regarding Cross Flats Park , I’ve seen men drinking alcohol there at various times of the day and shouting obscene language to people walking their dogs and women taking their children into the park – very off putting for those who wish to enjoy the park .
What a lot of negative and short-term views being expressed here! Surely this is for the future, not just short-term! Do you really NOT want a more pleasant local environment to live in? Wouldn’t you rather hear the sounds of birdsong and children playing, than cars zooming past?
Having seen the speed that some people drive at up and down Cross Flatts Avenue anything that will slow them down has to be a good thing. The council should also stop people parking on the pavement on the same road because it means pedestrians can only get past by walking in the road.
Well said,people just don’t seem to get it
Yes Stu it’s really awkward for people to get past cars if they’re on the pavement – in particular for people who have difficulty walking – let’s hope this can be sorted and when the scheme goes ahead it improves things for everyone.
I also agree with the comments about people parking on the pavements, which happens alot on Cross Flatts Grove. It’s no joke if you have impaired walking and are carrying even a small amount of shopping, why are some car owners on this road so thoughtless? Perhaps we need a traffic warden? Speeding drivers do it because there’s no means of enforcement same as the pavement parked. Just a couple of cameras would kill the problem.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing the Councils revised proposals for improving our local environment and reducing the impact of cars in our area, at the same time making our communities safer when, which surely we will get to eventually, we return to something like normal conditions with hundreds of cars exiting Elland Road on match days for example and using our streets as rat runs. The Council are to be commended for using innovative means to consult, which Tuesdays zoom meeting surely is. I hope the meeting is successful in achieving the aims set out!
If the inital proposed plans are kept my journey to work will be increased by at least 15 minutes due to traffic as i will need to drive down cross flatts grove cross 2 lanes off traffic on dewsbury road heading towards Leeds and turn right to come back up dewsbury road to turn right at the Tommy Wass lights just to get to old lane to continue my journey to work when work traffic and school traffic is at it’s peak. I tried to turn right at the lights at Tommy wass the other friday and the lights changed 4 times before i got through. This was during the day when no rush hour traffic and no school traffic as they were still on school holidays lAdded to the fact of more petrol costs which in the current climate people can do with additional costs been added to their monthly outgoings. Inital plans clearly not raised by anyone who lives around here