The current daily trial closure of Whitby Swing Bridge to improve safety for residents and visitors is to be modified to weekend-only from the start of October.
The trial was extended to daily closures mid-August with the intention for this to continue until the end of October to cover the busy tourist season. However, the County Council has made the decision to amend this after feedback from the ongoing consultation.
Vehicles will be prohibited between 10.30am and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, but the recent exemption for buses and vehicles responding to an emergency call will continue.
County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said:
“The daily closure of Whitby Swing Bridge to vehicles was necessary due to the increasing number of visitors throughout summer. Exempting buses and vehicles travelling to an emergency call-out has been met with support so we are continuing this element of the trial.
“By the start of October there will have been a period of six weeks with these measures in place. As the experimental scheme continues and we re-introduce weekday traffic we will be monitoring the effect this has on pedestrians. We will then use the data we have gathered along with the consultation comments to carry out an extensive review of the experiment.”
County Councillor Joe Plant, who represents Whitby Streonshalh, said:
“The summer period can be incredibly busy so the seven-day pedestrianisation trial was introduced in the interest of everyone’s safety. However, I requested that we revert back to weekend-only closures as I believe it is the right thing to do at this time and I’m pleased that my request was agreed to.
“I encourage everybody to take part in the consultation. Please be assured that we will listen to every comment and assess the traffic data results before making a decision over its extension.”
Whitby Town Deal Board has secured £400,000 of fast-track Government funding to pay for the infrastructure needed to carry out the trial, which is being implemented by the County Council’s highways team
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