Get project news

Do you want to receive an email when news items are posted?

Your email

Latest news

Stay involved in the discussion. Keep up to date with the latest news and share it with your fellow community members.

Have your say: help shape plans to improve walking, cycling and public transport along Woodhouse Lane

A new consultation has launched asking people for their views on travel-related issues between the centre of Leeds and the Hyde Park and Woodhouse areas.

We're asking people to identify current issues, what changes they'd like to see, and what they think should be prioritised to improve the Woodhouse Lane Gateway, which is a 2km section of route along Woodhouse Lane and Albion Street from St Mark’s Road to the Headrow in the city centre.

The scheme also covers the southern end of the A660, which links the city centre to Hyde Park and Headingley.

The Woodhouse Lane Gateway is already heavily used by people walking, cycling and using the bus. However, the area suffers from congestion which can delay bus journey times and it can be difficult to travel along the route by foot or by bike.

It also suffers from a high casualty rate with 98 reported casualties happening along roads within the Woodhouse Lane Gateway boundary since 2016, including 23 serious collisions.

If you live, work in, or travel along the route, you can have your say in the consultation before 19 February. Simply drop a pin on the map, let us know what changes you'd like to see and help prioritise improvements for a safer and more welcoming area.

Find out more and feed back in the consultation here.If you'd prefer, you can also attend a drop-in event at Leeds City Museum on 31 January (10am - 4pm).

Posted on 24th January 2024

by Connecting Leeds

Construction work begins on £10.4m A660 transport improvements

The ambitious plans along A660 Otley Road, Headingley Lane and Woodhouse Lane, have moved into delivery after the public consultation received a 62 per cent positive response.

The scheme aims to address a high number of casualties along the route whilst providing safer, alternative travel options for Leeds residents. Work includes safety improvements where the A660 meets key junctions; continuous crossings at side junctions, to give pedestrians and cyclists priority; widened pavements; additional benches to sit and rest; two-metre-wide segregated cycle paths, both inbound and outbound; improved bus stops and shelters, including relocating some stops; closing St Michael’s Road and Regent Park Avenue to motorised vehicles to prevent rat-running; six additional pedestrian crossings and improved landscaping along the route.

Construction of the £10.4million works, funded by Active Travel England, will be delivered in phases to reduce disruption, with work already underway between the junctions of Spring Bank Crescent and Richmond Road, near to The Golden Beam pub.

The cycle paths, in particular, are a welcome addition with 68 per cent of respondents backing the plans. The A660 is one of the busiest cycle routes in Leeds with over 1,000 cyclists using it daily. The cycle path will follow on from the recently completed Shaw Lane junction improvement scheme which includes a new-fully segregated cycle path.

The highways treatments are scheduled to complete in spring 2025. The schedule of work is:

Phase three: Ongoing, due to complete winter 2023.

A660 Headingley Lane from Spring Bank Crescent to Richmond Road

Phases four and six: Construction begins November 2023, due to complete summer 2024.

Phase 4: A660 Headingley Lane from Richmond Road to Victoria Road

Phase 6: A660 Woodhouse Lane from Hyde Park Corner to Cliff Road

Phase two: Construction begins early 2024, due to complete summer 2024.

Phase 2: A660 Otley Road from North Lane to Spring Bank Crescent

Phases seven, nine and 10: Construction begins early 2024, due to complete autumn/winter 2024.

Phase 7: A660 Woodhouse Lane from Cliff Road to Clarendon Road

Phase 9: A660 Woodhouse Lane from Clarendon Road to St Mark’s Road

Phase 10: A660 Woodhouse Lane/St Mark’s Road junction

Phases one and eight: Construction begins spring 2024, due to complete spring 2025.

Phase 1: A660 Otley Road from Shaw Lane to North Lane

Phase 8: A660 Woodhouse Lane/Clarendon Road junction

Phase five: Construction begins summer 2024, due to complete spring 2025.

A660 Headingley Lane/Hyde Park Corner/Victoria Road junction

For further information about each section, please visit the consultation materials.

Traffic management will be in operation whilst the works are carried out, and disruption will be kept to a minimum as possible, but there will inevitably be delays, and when temporary road closures are in operation, diversion routes will be well signed. To be kept up-to-date with any of the construction, our contractor Colas Ltd has an app, Hello Travaux, you can use. Download it by scanning the QR code below:

Posted on 17th October 2023

by Martin Walker

A660: Improving safety and the design of our streets - what you told us

Consultation findings

Thank you to everyone that fed back on our proposals for A660. The consultation ran from Monday 30th January to Sunday 5th March 2023 and received 1,709 responses. We have reviewed and analysed all the responses and have subsequently made some changes to the scheme. These are summarised at the bottom of this post.

Below are the main findings from feedback received from online surveys, paper surveys at events, postal surveys and emails received:

How do you feel about our proposals overall?:

Overall, 63% of respondents supported the proposals, 11% felt neutral and 25% of respondents felt negatively towards the scheme.

What is your connection to the area? (Multiple choice):

How do you travel along this route? (Multiple choice):

How would you like to travel along this route? (Multiple choice):

Section 1: A660 Otley Road from Alma Road to Shire Oak Road

Grid A:

The proposals in this section are:

Re-configure and make better use of the space and paving outside the front of Headingley Central

Provide a segregated cycle path between the road and a path for people walking and wheeling

Replace bus shelter with a flag stop, and use sheltered walkway of Headingley Central as a place to wait for buses

Real-time information screens for bus times, placed under sheltered walkway

Narrow the carriageway and reduce speed limit from 30mph to 20mph between Shaw Lane/St Anne’s Road junction and St Michael’s Road

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid A?:

Grid B:

The proposals in this section are:

North Lane junction to remain signalised but with the addition of a diagonal-crossing

Responsive crossing times for people that need longer to cross

Priority green signal release at junction for people cycling

Metal guard rails and concrete bollards removed

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid B?:

Section 2: A660 Otley Road/Headingley Lane, St Michael’s Road junction:

Grid C:

The proposals in this section are:

Close St Michael’s Road/A660 junction to motorised traffic preventing rat-running

Create a space surrounding the War Memorial for benches, planting and possibly a rain garden

Provide cycle parking

Move existing bus stop from outside St. Michael and All Angels’ Church to the new pedestrianised area on St. Michael’s Road

Upgraded, bus-responsive traffic signals

Eight standard parking bays replaced with four blue badge parking bays and public space

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid C?:

Section 3: A660 Headingley Lane from Spring Road to Grosvenor Road:

The proposals in this section are:

New bus stop with real-time information screens placed outside The Golden Beam (J D Wetherspoon). This will replace infrequently used bus stops on A660 Headingley Lane at North Grange Road, North Hill Road and Richmond Avenue junctions

Remove pedestrian guard rails, islands and hatchings from centre of the A660 Headingley Lane to create more space for improvements, including wider footpaths

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Section 3?:

Section 4: A660 Headingley Lane/Woodhouse Lane, Victoria Road junction:

Grid D:

The proposals in this section are:

Close Regent Park Avenue junction to motorised traffic

All arms of Victoria Road and A660 Headingley Lane junction signalised with crossings for people walking, wheeling, and cycling

Create a dedicated lane for motorised vehicles turning left from A660 into Victoria Road

People cycling outbound, across the arm of Victoria Road junction, to be given priority, whilst left-turning vehicles are held by signals to prevent collisions

Create a public space and remove advertising billboards to create a more pleasant environment

Ban the right turn into Victoria Road

Remove overgrown shrubs

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid D?:

Section 5: A660 Woodhouse Lane, Hyde Park Road junction (Hyde Park Corner) to Cliff Road:

Grid E:

The proposals in this section are:

Build-out existing footway on corner of Woodhouse Street/A660, directly outside The Hyde Park pub, so it’s clearer to motorists this is an existing banned left turn

Ban straight-ahead movement from Hyde Park Road to Woodhouse Street

Cliff Road made one-way, with direction of travel from Woodhouse Street to Woodhouse Lane

Ban right turn out of Cliff Road onto A660 Woodhouse Lane

New signalised crossing between the bus shelter and Cliff Road

Traffic signals placed on outbound bus lane of A660 Woodhouse Lane, giving buses priority

Re-surface existing path (Avenue Walk) so people cycling can either use the bus lane or this path.

Eleven trees removed to make space for improvements

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid E?:

Section 6: A660 Woodhouse Lane, Rampart Road to Clarendon Road:

Grid F:

The proposals in this section are:

New signalised crossing on A660 Woodhouse Lane between Woodhouse Moor and Rampart Road

Responsive crossing times for people that need longer to cross

Ban right turn out of Rampart Road

Resurface existing path (Avenue Walk). People cycling can either use the bus lane or this path

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid F?:

Grid G:

The proposals in this section are:

New signalised crossing on A660 Woodhouse Lane east of Clarendon Road junction

Ban left turn out of Clarendon Road

New signalised crossing for people cycling between Raglan Road and Clarendon Road

Existing bus stop relocated to other side of the junction (west)

Improved landscaping to replace concrete planters

Responsive crossing times for people that need longer to cross

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid G?:

Section 7: A660 Woodhouse Lane from St Mark’s Street to St Mark’s Road:

Grid H:

The proposals in this section are:

Make St Mark’s Street one-way from A660 Woodhouse Lane

New loading bay on St Mark’s Street for local businesses

Widen footpaths

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid H?:

Grid I:

The proposals in this section are:

Relocate bus stop closer towards traffic signals, by Handsome Brewhouse, where footpath is wider

People cycling inbound, across the arm of St Mark’s Road junction, given priority, whilst left-turning vehicles are held by signals to prevent collisions

Segregated cycle paths help people cycling turn right at the junction, towards the Parkinson Building

Increase the size of pedestrian waiting islands

All movements retained but existing three lanes become two lanes: - left turn only - straight ahead with right turn

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to each of the proposals:

What will be better or worse?:

Overall, how do you feel about our proposals in Grid I?:

Section 8: Continuous crossings at side roads:

This proposal is to add continuous crossings to the following side roads along the A660:

The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to the proposal:

What will be better or worse?:

Section 9: Proposed segregated cycle path:

The proposal in this section is to create a two-metre segregated cycle path inbound and outbound along most of the route. The chart below shows the respondents overall sentiment to the proposal:

What will be better or worse?:

Changes to designs as a result of feedback from the consultation:

Section 1: Grid A

Initial proposal: Replace bus shelter with a flag stop, and use sheltered walkway of Headingley Central as a place to wait for buses. - Decision: A shelter will be retained on the public highway. Due to comments from the public, it was felt important by the community to accommodate a seated waiting area beyond the private land of Headingley Central (Arndale Centre).

Section 2: Grid C

Initial proposal: Move existing bus stop from outside St. Michael and All Angels’ Church to the new pedestrianised area on St. Michael’s Road. - Decision: After consultation with the heritage team at Leeds City Council, it was agreed that a flag and pole arrangement may be considered rather than a bus shelter. The stop is a predominantly alighting stop which means very few people dwell there. There will be resting points provided via benches in the vicinity and sight lines will be improved.

Section 5: Grid E

Initial proposal: Ban straight-ahead movement from Hyde Park Road to Woodhouse Street. - Decision: After consultation with the public, it was decided that the straight-ahead movement between Hyde Park Road and Woodhouse Street would be retained. This means Woodhouse Street will remain two-way, only accessible from Hyde Park Road.

Initial proposal: Build-out existing footway on corner of Woodhouse Street/A660, directly outside The Hyde Park pub, so it’s clearer to motorists this is an existing banned left turn. - Decision: The build out will not be progressing - camera enforcement will be explored as a permanent solution instead. This will allow the straight-ahead movement between Hyde Park Road and Woodhouse Street to be retained.

Section 7: Grid I

Initial proposal: Relocate bus stop closer towards traffic signals, by Handsome Brewhouse, where footpath is wider - Decision: During further detailed design work with the signalling team, it was confirmed that the chosen location at consultation would block drivers’ view of traffic signals. at St Mark’s Road junction, the bus stop will now be relocated to the junction of A660/St Mark’s Street, near The Eldon. The pavement will be built out to create extra space for passengers.

Special Thanks

Leeds City Council Highways and Transportation officers would like to extend their thanks to all those that have contributed to the consultation process. These responses are highly beneficial to support officers to shape and design transport projects.

Next Steps

We will keep residents and stakeholders informed about the progress of the scheme, via Commonplace and Connecting Leeds communication channels.

If you have any further queries, please contact connectingleeds@leeds.gov.uk.

Posted on 14th June 2023

by Connecting Leeds

A660 Consultation Update

Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey for the A660 consultation, which ran from the 30th January to 5th March 2023. We are now analysing all online, paper (both postal and from our drop-in events), and email responses received.

We will be in touch shortly to share the results from the consultation and inform you of the next steps.

Posted on 14th March 2023

by Connecting Leeds