Dear City of York Council,

I write to you in relation to the transition that has been recently installed on Fields Lane at approximate location (53.947193, -1.043207). To my knowledge this was installed in August 2020 as part of a series of measures in this location. For clarity, I will email separately with recent photos of the junction in question.

This FOI request is specific to the design of this transition, as it creates a transition to the road that is impossible to safely or physically conduct the requured manoeuvre on many non-standard cycles. I also raise this request to clarify whether LTN 1/20 (published on 27th July 2020) applies.

The Equality Act 2010, Section 20 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20) contains a number of stipulations with regards to provisions, practices, criterion and physical features. These are legal obligations, and as such, are not optional. The Equality Act 2010, Section 20 is henceforth referred to as and by "S.20".

LTN 1/20 contains is the “Guidance for local authorities on designing high-quality, safe cycle infrastructure” and notably includes specific guidance for “transitions between carriageways, cycle lanes and cycle tracks”. It came into effect on the 27th July, replacing both LTN 2/08 and LTN 1/12.

I write to ask the following questions;

1) When exactly was this transition designed and installed?
2) Was an Equality Impact Assessment carried out at this location, as required by the Equality Act 2010 S.149, prior to the installation of this junction;
3) Could you please provide a copy of that Equality Impact Assessment;
4) Why was this design of transition between carriageway and shared cycle path chosen
5) Who approved this transition?

I note that this route is marked as connecting cycle route on the City of York iTravel cycle map;

6) Who does this cycle route fall under the remit of?
7a) Were they consulted prior to installation?
7b) If so, what was their response?
7b.i) If they did not approve, why was this ignored/overruled/disregarded, and by whom?
7b.ii) If they did approve, please provide evidence to support this.

As this forms part of the signposted and advertised local cycle network, it is not unreasonable to expect cyclists, including disabled and adaptive cyclists, to wish to pass along here, as they are legally entitled to do.
It is also reasonable to assume that many cyclists passing through here may not be familiar with the immediate local area, and may struggle to find an alternative route;
It is further reasonable to assume that this route will see a higher proportion of less experienced and less-able cyclists, who are less likely to be able to achieve or maintain higher paces, and, accordingly, should not be forced to join this road at an alternative location or in an unsafe manner.

8) What provision has been made for disabled cyclists to utilise the transition on this cycle route?
9) Leading on from 8), what provision has been made for cargobikes, tricyclists, and adaptive cycles in general?
10) How would a cargobike use this transition? (Assume length of 2.15, width 89cm)
11) How would a recumbent handcycle use this transition? (Assume 2.2m length, 5.5m turning radius - not an extreme example, fairly typical).
12) How would an upright handcycle use this transition? (Assume 1.8m length, 5.5m turning radius - again, not extreme, fairly typical)
13) How would a wheelchair with a clip-on handcycle use this transition? (assume length of 1.6m, width of 72cm at the bottom, 74cm at the cranks - Again, not extreme, fairly typical)
14) In general, how would any cyclist safely conduct two 90 degree turns in the restricted, curb bounded area here to safely join a carriageway at this transition?

As above, and reiterated here verbatim for clarity and ease of reference; The Equality Act 2010, Section 20 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20) contains a number of stipulations with regards to provisions, practices, criterion and physical features. These are legal obligations, and as such, are not optional. The Equality Act 2010, Section 20 is henceforth referred to as and by "S.20".

15) Please clarify how the installation of this transition aligns with S.20(3);
16) Please clarify how the installation of this transition aligns with S.20(4);
17) Please clarify how the installation of this transition aligns with S.20(9);

The UK Government has recently embarked on a programme of encouraging the construction, provision and improvement of cycling infrastructure.

18) Please explain how this junction, and the de facto banning of disabled cyclists from this route and space, aligns with this programme.

LTN 1/20 came into effect on July 27th 2020.

19) Do you consider LTN 1/20 to be the relevant guidance to the design and installation of this feature, and if not, why not?
20) Please clarify how this transition design aligns with LTN 1/20 (5.4.2 and Table 5-1)
21) Please clarify how this transition design aligns with LTN 1/20 (9.3.1)

Finally, I expect immediate and urgent action to be taken in order to bring this junction into compliance with the above legislation;

22) Please explain what immediate steps will be taken to restore inclusive and disabled accessibility for the above route.
23) Please provide the correct contact point for any further actions, including for any potential Letter(s) Before Action(s) to be addressed to.

Please provide the requested information in either table, or bullet pointed format, addressing each question raised fully in turn.

Please do not use "Refer to previous answer N", as none of my questions are likely to be satisfactorily answered by a prior question, and this will only result in additional FOI requests.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.

If you can identify any ways that my request could be refined, I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email, and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and to discuss this request; my details are outlined below.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,