At last week's consultation meeting on the draft report I listed our priorities. Because it's used far more than anywhere else, and offers the biggest potential benefits to public health (getting people more active as well as cutting pollution), our clear priority is the urban section of the Track between Scarborough town centre and Station Road in Scalby. (see "Smooth enough for buggies and wheelchairs") . After that it would be the stretches from Hawsker to Whitby, from Scalby to Burniston, both of which are in easy commuter range. Finally, to give a safe off route for road bikes between the north and south of the Borough that avoids the A 171, the stretch from Ravenscar to Boggle Hole.
This doesn't mean that we don't think its important to deal with the other more rural sections, simply that these need to be improved with the active support and agreement of the people who live there.
Yesterday I made one of my slightly irregular inspection runs from Scarborough to Ravenscar. There are still surface issues in a number of places but these are no worse than they have been. However, recent strong winds have been getting at the increasingly fragile trees that line much of the Track (in many cases self seeded in the drainage channels at the side) and this highlights the need to plant replacements further back from the Track before the current trees either collapse of their own accord or have to be removed in order to get at the drains.
Fallen branch obstructing the Track
just north of Staintondale Staion.
The wind had also brought down one of the finger post signs that I'd installed on Station Road in Scalby. Luckily it had landed on the hedge and I was able to recover it. Let's hope, that once I've put it back up again, I won't have to do it again because by then there'll be some proper official metal signs in their place.
Recovered sign along with the original stencils
