Call for The Grove to be made one-way

During recent pavement work only traffic travelling west to east was allowed to use the road. And Angela Hill, of Woodroyd Gardens, Ben Rhydding, was so impressed with the way the one-way system operated she has written to the parish council and to Ilkley MP Ann Cryer requesting its reinstatement.

Mrs Hill says: "This road has just undergone major work to widen the pavement on the side of the shops, which is now the width of the road. While the work was being carried out traffic flow was restricted to one way, with westwards traffic being diverted down Brook Street and along Skipton Road.

"This made vehicular use of The Grove much more pleasant and easier, as well as facilitating crossing of the road by pedestrians.

"Surely it would have made more sense to keep the traffic flow in a one-way direction after the completion of the work. How can two lanes of traffic and a line of parked vehicles compete for the very narrow road space, especially when bearing in mind the number of very large four wheel drive vehicles we have in Ilkley, not to mention buses and lorries which all use the Grove?"

But Councillor Martin Smith said while The Grove was one-way only, drivers had been using other narrow roads in the vicinity such as Parish Ghyll Road, as rat runs to get around the town thereby increasing traffic congestion in other areas..

Coun Smith said: "It did cause some short-term benefits but it increased the speed of traffic along The Grove, that is what the problem is. It is much more sensible to have it narrow."

Coun Smith said that when parking was banned outside the Ilkley Medical Centre on Springs Lane, traffic speeds increased along the road. He told highway engineers to reintroduce road side parking again which had the effect of slowing down traffic.

Coun Smith said that engineers could soon be removing the white line from the middle of the road there because it had been seen in other areas to cause drivers to slow down and take more notice of oncoming traffic.