Lawnswood Junction Improvement Scheme FAQ’s

1. Why are we proposing to make changes to the junction? At the intersection of the A6120 Outer Ring Road and A660 Road, Lawnswood roundabout is one of the busiest in the city and suffers from traffic congestion, especially when traffic queues on the A660 back from . Buses are delayed at peak times, causing bus passengers delay and unpredictable journey times. Bus drivers find it difficult to safely enter the roundabout because it is hard for them to find gaps in the traffic. The cycling and pedestrian facilities at this junction are substandard which make crossing the junction difficult and is a deterrent to walking and cycling in this locality including access to . The junction has a poor road safety record and despite improvements made by LCC, the proportion of cycle accidents is higher than we would expect at a junction of this type.

Delays and congestion are forecast to increase as a result of increasing demand for travel. City Council have aspirations to signalise all of the major junctions along the Outer Ring Road to deliver a range of benefits, as well delivering other complementary improvements along the A660 Otley Road on the Adel to Leeds route.

2. Why does the Lawnswood junction need to be signalised? We have considered various options to solve the identified problems, including whether a flyover or underpass should be built. Our assessments showed that this would not be viable without significant impacts on land, property and the environment, and so the preferred solution is to use traffic signals without new bridges or tunnels. Introducing traffic signals to the junction delivers a number of benefits. Benefits include: · Delays to buses will be reduced by providing traffic signals which detect buses and give them priority; · Signal timings can be adjusted automatically to respond to changing traffic flows throughout the day to reduce delay; and · Signalised pedestrian and cycle crossings which will make the junction safer for all road users. 3. Why are you proposing to put traffic signals at the Otley Old Road/Otley Road junction? Evidence from traffic surveys, traffic modelling simulations and other data sources indicates buses exiting Otley Old Road joining Otley Road towards Leeds are delayed in traffic. People wishing to access the bus stops on Otley Road have to cross the high speed dual carriageway without crossing facilities which puts pedestrians at risk and can be difficult. which is unsafe and . The junction layout does not provide dedicated space or crossing facilities for cyclists. Introducing traffic signals and the other complimentary improvements outlined in the plans presented as part of this consultation will help improve these issues.

4. Why make the Lawnswood junction a signalised cross roads not a signalised roundabout? A signalised roundabout option was one of the options considered by but this was not taken forward because it did not offer the safety, highway capacity or bus service operational benefits required to warrant the level of investment needed to deliver it. Although traffic signal controlled roundabouts have been implemented at other key junctions along the Outer Ring Road, each location has to be considered on a site-by-site basis, taking into account the shape of the site, traffic flows, pedestrians, cyclists and property access. A signalised roundabout is not the most appropriate or cost-effective solution for this junction at this time.

Although a signalised roundabout was proposed as part of the New Generation Transport trolleybus proposals, traffic flows have changed since that scheme was first conceived and the junction must be designed with these new flows in mind. In addition, the scheme objectives differ – the NGT design was very focussed on delivering maximum segregation from traffic for the trolleybuses, whereas the current proposals seek to deliver benefits across a wider range of users.

5. How will the road widening and new cycle lane affect properties along Otley Old Road? The existing wide grass verge is within the highway boundary and owned by Leeds City Council. Vehicles will be able to access these properties across the cycle lane as they do now, with suitable kerb details aligned with private drives to facilitate access. Leeds City Council’s Connecting Leeds team can hold 1-1 meetings with any property owners to further explain the impact of these proposals.

6. Will changing the southbound left hand lane along Otley Road into a bus lane between the Cemetery and the Lawnswood junction reduce how much traffic can use Otley Road? No. Otley Road is already one lane southbound north of the Cemetery, so this traffic will continue down Otley Road as it does already, but in one lane on the approach to Lawnswood junction. The bus lane will end at an appropriate point to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for traffic to enter Lawnswood junction.

Traffic modelling undertaken using technical software and the latest traffic flow survey data indicates that this section of highway can function effectively with only one lane for general traffic*. It is anticipated that any negative impact on private car journey times will be offset by the improvements being made to the Lawnswood junction, and by some people choosing not to travel by car at the busiest times as a result of the improvements for buses and people walking and cycling.

*The Leeds-bound bus lane will stop short of Lawnswood junction itself but will give buses the opportunity to bypass queuing traffic, particularly during peak times.

7. Isn’t doing this scheme pointless without sorting out the bottleneck in Headingley? We have undertaken initial work considering the operation of the whole corridor including identifying key issues and opportunities and developing proposals along the whole route to address these. There is a capacity and congestion issue in Headingley and the other measures along the route we are consulting on will go some way to improve the route through Headingley for buses, pedestrians and cyclists. However, the limited amount of road space and the constraints in central Headingley mean there is only a finite amount of road space that can be given over for general traffic. Improvements at Lawnswood have been developed to avoid making the issues in Headingley worse whilst prioritising buses through the junction and making sure the Outer Ring Road moves more efficiently. 8. How will the new bus lane southbound along Otley Old Road towards the Otley Road junction impact on access to residential properties? Bus lanes are in operation across the city and run directly outside a wide range of properties including residential properties. Access to properties will be maintained at all times even with the bus lane in place. It is envisaged the bus lane will be in operation 24/7 in line with LCC policy for new bus lanes unless there are specific reasons this is not appropriate at this location. However no final decision has been taken and the hours of operation for this bus lane are yet to be determined. Operational restrictions are placed on which sort of vehicles can enter the bus lane - typically this includes buses, cyclists and hackney carriage taxi vehicles only. Furthermore, when operational, private cars and delivery vehicles are not allowed to park in the bus lane although special permissions can be granted for residents and property owners in special circumstances such as when moving house, but not on a regular basis. Drivers can cross the bus lane to access and exit a property at any time, but as the restrictions prohibit drivers from using the bus lane to gain any kind of advantage over other traffic, you are not allowed to drive along it before you enter your property or after you leave it – you must enter/leave the adjacent traffic lane. Drivers are also prohibited from blocking cyclists, taxis and buses travelling along the bus lane in any way.

If the bus lane is not operational 24 hours, then outside the hours of operation drivers can use the bus lane as they would any other general traffic lane. Leeds City Councils Connecting Leeds team can hold 1-1 meetings with any property owners to further explain the impact of these proposals. This bus lane may be enforced using a fixed camera although no decision has been made about it. Cameras are used across the city to enforce restrictions and ensure buses (and other traffic) keep moving. Enforcement is a key part of the management of the highway network, to ensure that the intended benefits from the scheme are delivered. If the Council promotes a bus lane camera here it is not for the purposes of raising revenue.

9. Will the left turn from Otley Old Road onto Otley Road (towards Adel and Otley) be banned, and if so what impact will this have? Banning this movement offers improved junction capacity and efficiency, so it will reduce delays for traffic. It will also help us deliver improved cycling facilities and better safety for cyclists. Only a small number of vehicles make this movement. If this change is made vehicles wishing to exit Otley Old Road and travel northbound towards Adel and Otley will first need to travel southbound before making a U-turn before the Lawnswood junction. This scheme is providing a brand new U- turn facility for this purpose and is shown on the plans used as part of this consultation. A member of the Connecting Leeds team can explain the diversion route.

10. How many trees will be affected? The exact number of trees affected will not be known until we reach the detailed design stage and construction. However, some trees will need to be removed because it is not possible to improve the junction without affecting some of them. Preliminary design work indicates 11 trees will need to be removed (3 on the Otley Road central reserve, 4 within the Otley Road verges and 4 on the Outer Ring Road) and a further 20 may be impacted due to works within the root zone – but this does not mean they will need to be felled. We recognise the visual amenity that the trees provide along the corridor and maintaining and improving this been a key driver to our design work. We are working hard to reduce the number of affected trees further through refinement of the design and consideration of suitable construction techniques. The New Generation Transport trolleybus proposals would have resulted in the removal of 54 trees in this area and the design was such that replacement trees were hard to plant in similar locations to where they were to be removed from. This scheme retains the Otley Road central reserve and even where trees need to be felled, replacement trees can be planted to maintain the avenue. For every tree removed, 3 more semi-mature trees will be planted in the vicinity as close to the existing location(s) as possible. Developing the proposals further will involve working with the local community to further explain these impacts, working to ensure replacement trees are positioned in a way that compliments the look and feel of this part of the city.

11. Will drivers be able to do U-turns at the new Lawnswood junction? No. All U-turn movements will be prohibited at the junction itself. Facilitating these movements would compromise the safety of drivers at the junction as well as the traffic capacity, affecting queues and delays. It would also prevent the inclusion of crossings for pedestrians and cyclists, as these facilities need to ‘run’ at the same time as traffic is flowing elsewhere in the junction, to maintain capacity. We have considered the numbers of vehicles making U-turns, which are small in comparison to the total amount of traffic using the junction and we have allowed for this in the scheme design and proposed signal timings. Most of the affected traffic can reach its destination using one of the U-turns to be made available on the Otley Road, especially at the Otley Old Road junction which is being designed with U-turners in mind. The responses to question 11 details the suggested alternative routes available to drivers, although they may prefer to choose alternative routes depending on the particular journey. New U-turn facilities will remain be delivered as part of the scheme and others (like that at the Spen Road junction) will remain. If required, new signage will be provided to help explain the changes to drivers, but as most of the affected trips are accessing local properties, we don’t envisage that the changes will take too long to settle down.

12. How will the banning of U-turns and the banned left turn at Otley Old Road impact access to the following properties/streets? Lawnswood School (Otley Road entrance/exit) Vehicles exiting the school wanting to travel southbound on the Otley Road towards the City Centre can continue straight ahead northbound at the signalised crossroads and undertake a U-turn at the Otley Old Road/Otley Road junction, head southbound on Otley Road straight ahead at the signalised crossroads back towards the City centre. Traffic entering at this access will be unaffected.

Lawnswood School (Northern Entrance) To benefit vehicles that currently travel east along the Outer Ring Road and undertake a U-turn to head into the school northern access, a gap within the central reserve is proposed to enable eastbound traffic to turn right directly into the northern access.

The Hall Estate Vehicles exiting the hotel wanting to travel eastbound on the Outer Ring Road (A6120) can turn right at the signalised crossroads into Otley Road heading northbound, undertake a U-turn at the Otley Old Road/Otley Road junction, head southbound on Otley Road, turning left at the signalised crossroads onto the Outer Ring Road heading east. Northbound traffic on Otley Road wanting to access the Estate via Weetwood Approach will be able to continue northbound at the signalised crossroads and undertake a U-turn manoeuvre at the Otley Old Road/Otley Road turning loop, head southbound on Otley Road straight ahead at the signalised crossroads back towards the City centre and left into Weetwood Approach.

The Weetwood Sports Park (incl. Leeds Hockey Club & Headingley AFC) Vehicles exiting the playing fields wanting to travel eastbound on the Outer Ring Road (A6120) will have to turn right at the signalised crossroads into Otley Road heading northbound, undertake a U- turn manoeuvre at the Otley Old Road/Otley Road junction, head southbound on Otley Road, turning left at the signalised crossroads onto the Outer Ring Road heading East.

Weetwood Police Station Vehicles exiting the police station wanting to head north, will have to travel straight ahead at the signalised crossroads southbound on Otley Road to the Otley Road/Spen Road junction then head northbound and straight ahead at the signalised crossroads northbound.

Woodlands Court Vehicles travelling southbound on Otley Road wanting to access Woodlands Court will have to travel straight ahead at the signalised crossroad southbound on Otley Road to the Otley Road/Spen Road turning loop then head northbound and straight ahead at the signalised crossroad.

Otley Old Road, Grangewood Gardens and The Grange Road For vehicles travelling southbound on Otley Road wanting to access Otley Old Road, Grangewood Gardens or The Grange Road, a new U-turn facility has been designed to accommodate access to these roads. The location of the U-turn facility has been provided at a location where there is no impact on existing trees. The location of the new U-turn facility is shown on the plans presented in this consultation.

YMCA Leeds Due to the prohibition of the left turn from Otley Old Road into Otley Road, vehicles wanting to access the YMCA can turn right southbound into Otley Road and undertake a U-turn in the proposed U-Turn facility adjacent to Grangewood Gardens and head northbound on Otley Road. The location of the new U-turn facility is shown on the plans presented in this consultation.

13. How wide will the bus and cycle lanes be? Along the extent of Otley Road (A660) the width of the proposed bus lanes have been designed to be 3.5m in width where there is a separate dedicated cycle lane adjacent. The section of bus lane along Otley Old Road has been designed as a shared Cycle, Taxi & Bus Lane with a bus lane width along this section of 4m. The proposed raised track and on-carriageway cycle lanes have both been designed to be 2m in width.

14. Will cyclists using the cycle lanes be protected from traffic? The designs will need developing further as part of the Detailed Design work prior to construction. The current assumption is that the cycle tracks will generally be separated from the carriageway by a shallow kerb subject to slight variations at property accesses. Where it is not possible to provide a segregated cycle track, it is proposed that new cycle lanes will be provided and they will be surfaced in a different colour from both the general traffic and the bus lanes where appropriate to highlight cyclists to help road safety. Restrictions will be placed on both the cycle tracks and lanes to restrict parking, waiting and loading. Leeds City Councils Connecting Leeds team can hold 1-1 meetings with any property owners to further explain the impact of these proposals.