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A £1.1m investment (and 20 weeks of road closures) to improve Stonebow, Fossgate and Pavement

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Stonebow, Fossgate and Pavement from the air. Photograph © Google Street View

It will cost more than a million and cause major traffic disruption.

But by the spring York should reap the benefits of major improvements to Stonebow, Fossgate and Pavement.

The £1.1m works are intended to improve the street’s appearance and character, create a more pedestrian-friendly environment and improve access for pedestrians and cyclists, which will attract more visitors to the area.


Cllr Peter Dew, Executive Member for Transport, said:

  • Fossgate is a real gem in the heart of York, with its variety of largely independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs proving popular with residents and tourists alike.

    We want to continue to work with traders and residents to make this part of York even better; giving this whole area a badly-needed makeover while making it a more accessible place for even more people to enjoy.

The road closures

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Fossgate: works starting on Monday 7 January with a full road closure from Monday 14 January until early April (approx 12 weeks).

Stonebow: a full road closure from Friday 18 February until early April (approx 6 weeks).

Pavement: a full road closure from 4 February until early April (approx 8 weeks). One way exit from Colliergate/Whip-ma-Whop-ma-Gate will be available.

Ready for Easter?

Starting from 7 January, the scheme will be carried out in phases over 12 weeks, and are estimated to be completed by early April, weather permitting, in time for Easter.

For the first time in a generation, the council is completely reconstructing the roads and footpaths on Stonebow, Fossgate and Pavement, which are in a poor condition and need to be replaced.

This will involve constructing/resurfacing and rebuilding the existing stretch of road – including excavating, which will require archaeologists to be in attendance.

It’s likely that the work will cause significant disruption to traffic as these are major works. The council is aiming to keep this to a minimum by:

  • allowing one way access from Colliergate, turning right only, onto Pavement towards Piccadilly at certain times
  • permitting deliveries on Fossgate and Stonebow during certain times, managed by traffic marshals.

FAQs – and the council’s answers

For the first time in a generation, we are completely reconstructing the roads and footpaths on Stonebow and Pavement and at the same time undertaking improvement works on Fossgate – through a £1.1million investment (£500k Fossgate, £600k Stonebow/Pavement).

This will involve constructing/resurfacing the length of road along Stonebow and Pavement between the junctions with Garden Place and Piccadilly including excavation to depths of around 700mm, which will require archaeological briefs. Footways are to be reconstructed on the southern side.

We’ll also be improving the footways including widening the footways on Fossgate and introducing new and lower kerbs, and resurfacing the carriageway throughout, raising the road level to reduce kerb heights along the section between Lady Peckitts yard and Pavement.

The work on Fossgate will enhance the street’s appearance and character, creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment, attracting more people into the area and improving access for pedestrians and cyclists, whilst maintaining vehicular access for residents and deliveries.

We consulted with businesses, traders and residents in September about the proposals to amend the layout of Fossgate which are aiming to improve the streetscape and layout in support of the TRO (reversal of traffic flow) change. We also talked about the proposals for these major improvement works too.

These works will include improving the quality of Fossgate by repaving extensive sections of footway, using Yorkstone paving. The existing cobbles are to be retained due to their conservational value but elsewhere the poor quality road surface is planned to be replaced.

At the Pavement junction, we are to upgrade and reconstruct the junction. There are significant defects in the surface of the road in the Stonebow area due to the failure of the concrete construction. The council is investing a further £600,000 to reconstruct Stonebow/Pavement between the Garden Place and Piccadilly junctions to rectify these defects.

We will improve the quality of the footways at the junction and improve pedestrian links into Fossgate from the city centre by upgrading and widening the crossings. Footways are to be widened at their narrowest points at the top of Fossgate to allow easier passage into Fossgate.

At the Walmgate junction, we are proposing to narrow the entry to create a gateway to improve links into Fossgate and ensure that the restrictions are clearly identified.

Along Fossgate, we are introducing localised build-outs to improve available footway area for use by street cafes and/or selected street furniture (e.g. benches and cycle stands) to improve and aid accessibility. The build-outs are also serving to rationalise and control on-street parking thereby allowing this and deliveries to take place at specified locations. Traffic calming measures and additional crossings are being introduced at these build-out locations to control vehicular speeds and improve links from one side to the other.

It’s likely that the work will cause significant disruption to traffic. We’re aiming to keep this to a minimum by:

  • Allowing one way access from Colliergate, turning right only, onto Stonebow towards Piccadilly at certain times.
  • Deliveries will be permitted on Fossgate and Stonebow during certain times but will be managed by traffic marshals.

However, residents, businesses and visitors are advised to expect delays.

Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works, but significant diversions and changes to bus stop locations will be in place, avoiding the Stonebow area during the full road closure period.

The taxi rank will continue to remain in place during the works and road closures. Access along St Saviourgate will remain.

Temporary crossing points will be available at all times during the works to ensure that all pedestrian crossings that are currently available are maintained. Traffic marshals will be on site between 6am and 5pm seven days a week to assist with pedestrians crossing the road.

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times and we have already had meetings with representatives of Fossgate, Stonebow and Pavement about the proposals to ensure we work with traders and businesses to help promote the “open as usual message”.

Vehicular access for deliveries will be restricted and managed on site. No general traffic is to be permitted.

Access to all properties and businesses will be retained at all times by foot, but vehicle access will be prohibited at times. We will offer limited, access for delivery vehicles at certain times of the day (along Fossgate only) which will be managed by on-site traffic marshals. When there are full road closures in place we can not guarantee vehicle access will be granted.

We would like to apologise for any disruption that the works cause, but restrictions are in place to keep residents and visitors safe.

If anyone has any issues during the working hours, please speak to the staff on site and we’ll try to correct any issues straight away if we can. Traffic marshals will be on site to assist.

Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works but passengers are requested to visit www.itravelyork.info/ for more information.