Thank you for meeting us on 10th February to discuss residents’ concerns regarding the Bootham / St Mary’s junction.  I’ve listed the comments below and then outline what City of York Council (CYC) will do both in the short term and longer term as per our discussions on site.

 The following issues were raised by the residents:

• Residents said that vehicles exiting St Marys’ have poor visibility to the main road and have to exit the side road very cautiously.  Often cyclists heading outbound on Bootham go through the red signal and put themselves in conflict with vehicles exiting St Mary’s. This is a significant safety concern for residents.  There was also concern that the clearance period exiting St Mary’s was too short given the low speed of exit.  Residents requested CYC review if the stopline could be brought forward, closer to the junction, to help improve visibility and to review clearance times.
• Vehicles exiting St Marys’ often find their exit blocked by vehicles on Bootham inbound waiting on the yellow box markings.  This lead to exiting vehicles been stuck in the middle of the junction.  Residents accepted that when the junction was fully / partially clear they can move forward into the yellow box as per the highway code legally, providing they have a clear exit.  The incident regarding the cautioning of a resident by North Yorkshire Police was discussed and CYC officers acknowledged they did not believe an offence had been committed.
• Residents were concerned that pedestrians crossing St Mary’s did so at risk and were not aware of vehicles exiting St Mary’s due to the stop line being positioned so far back.  The pedestrian crossing is not signal controlled and residents requested that options for a formal signal controlled crossing in this location be investigated.
• There was discussion regarding the pedestrian crossing facilities over Bootham.  Residents believed that the existing crossing (to the southeast of the junction) does not meet a major walking desire line.  Many pedestrians were observed crossing Bootham over the northwestern arm (outside Penn House).  Residents requested that options for another pedestrian crossing were investigated at this location.  CYC confirmed they have no plans to relocate the existing crossing location.
• Cyclists using the North – South cycle route from St Mary’s to Bootham Park (and vice versa) were often observed to ignore the traffic signals and go through on a red signal.  They also were observed waiting ahead of the stop line. This was a safety concern for residents.  They believed that many cyclists didn’t believe the signals were useful as they were set too far back and lead to longer delays for cyclists than if the junction was give way.  CYC officers discussed how the signal control junction provided a safer route for all cyclists especially for younger and less confident.
• On Bootham inbound drivers were confused by the junction layout relating to the pedestrian crossing.  Vehicles would stop at the pedestrian crossing to the Southeast of the junction due to the traffic signal head on the right hand side of the crossing showing red (despite no stopline being present).  This issue was increased due to the traffic blocking back along Bootham from the Bootham / Gillygate junction. The position of the secondary signal was seen as confusing by residents.

City of York Council agreed in the short term to:

• Review the clearance periods at the junction, especially exiting St Mary’s.
• Look to options to manage queuing at the junction and relocate queues to reduce the blocking of the junction and pedestrian crossing.
• Review the location of the traffic signal head on the right side of the crossing and investigate relocate to the existing pole on the Bootham / St Mary’s corner.
• Review accident data for the junction since it was installed in 2022 (near miss records are not available).

City of York Council agreed in the longer term to:

• Review the location of the stopline on St Mary’s and the benefits / impacts of moving it forward.
• Review the yellow box and enforcement options.
• Undertake a design review of the junction to assess the options and benefits for additional signal controlled crossings.

We would appreciate if you could share this with the residents association for comment.  I trust that this is an accurate record of our discussions but if you have anything to add or change please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards

Michael

 Michael Banham | ITS Asset Manager