Member Article

New cycle path opened in York

A new £130,000 cycle path which links the village of Rufforth to the centre of York has been opened.

The path, which can also be used by walkers and horse riders, extends 3.2km (just under 2 miles) from the east of Rufforth village to join existing pathways at Knapton, adjacent to the A1237 outer ring road.

It has been created as a result of a partnership between waste management company Yorwaste, its environmental body Yorventure, City of York Council, Rufforth with Knapton Parish Council and sustainable transport charity Sustrans.

The opening of the cycle path, which follows the boundary of Yorwaste’s Harewood Whin waste recovery facility, means people living in Rufforth will, for the first time since the A1237 was constructed, be able to follow a traffic free route from the outskirts of the village to either the crossing of the A1237 at Knapton or to use Northfield Lane and the new facilities alongside the A59 and via the subway under the A1237 to access York.

Future improvements also being looked in to, including improvements to the A1237 crossing into Knapton and the extension of the off-road path further into Rufforth.

The project itself has been ten years in the making and was helped to become a reality as a result of a planning condition to construct a bridleway across the landfill site imposed by the City of York Council when Yorwaste extended its site at Harewood Whin in 2004.

Yorwaste Managing Director Steve Grieve said: “After lots of hard work between all the partners the path now links Rufforth to York, so we are delighted that it has been completed.

“Yorwaste takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and we are proud to have been part of a project that will benefit generations, providing a pleasant and safe walking, cycling and riding route in this part of York.”

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Ian Gillies, said: “As the Councillor for Rural West it is gratifying to see the work of so many people and organisations coming to fruition.

“Having being involved in chairing meetings over the past few years sourcing funding, and working with the Parish Council, Yorwaste and Sustrans, it is especially poignant to see the culmination and realisation of what was, at various stages, thought improbable.”

Councillor Helen Butterworth, from Rufforth with Knapton Parish Council, said: “We have worked closely with Yorwaste and the other partners in realising this dream of creating a sustainable transport route, and we are pleased that it is now open to the public.”

Paul Osborne, Regional Director for Sustrans said: “It’s great news that people in Rufforth now have a traffic-free route where they can cycle, walk or even horse ride into York. We hope the new path will be a fantastic addition to the National Cycle Network, which includes over 1,000 miles in Yorkshire, once final safety improvements are completed.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Neil Shaefer .