Plan ahead and have a great Tour … that’s the message to people in North Yorkshire, as the county gears up for the second Tour de Yorkshire cycle race.
With just over a month to go before the event and with the race timings now confirmed, work is well underway to get ready for the race. The aim is to combine maximum entertainment with minimum disruption.
“This is a fantastic event which builds on last year’s Tour de Yorkshire, with the race visiting large parts of North Yorkshire and once again the benefits to the county will be enormous, both in the immediate term and the longer term” said County Councillor Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council.
“We want to make sure that everything is in place to make it a huge success and ensures the race passes off smoothly for everyone – for the competitors, for the spectators, and for all other residents and highways users.
“We are doing all we can to make sure that it is successful – and that as far as possible, disruption for everyone who needs to use our roads over the weekend of the 29 April – 1 May, is kept to a minimum.”
The three stages of the race are being held from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1 May 2016:
Stage 1 – Friday 29 April
Departing from Beverley and finishing in Settle
Stage 2 – Saturday 30 April
Starting in Otley and finishing in Doncaster
Stage 3 – Sunday 1 May
Starting in Middlesbrough and finishing in Scarborough
The Tour passes near many towns and villages so the advice is to plan ahead and choose where you want to watch. Full details of the routes and timings of all three stages can be found at http://letour.yorkshire.com/
With the race timings now confirmed, the council is working on the specific details of the road closures affecting the county and is working with transport partners, schools, businesses and district councils.
There will be rolling road closures in place before, during and immediately after the race has passed and these are expected to last for around an hour. Some areas, including the finish locations in Settle and Scarborough, along some of the climbs and some of the busier locations, will require longer road closures to ensure the safety of the race and the spectators. The impact in terms of road closures and parking restrictions will be kept to a minimum.
There will also be parking restrictions in place along the race route – further details will be made available nearer the race weekend. The county council will be working with transport providers, schools and businesses to plan for the event and to work around the closures.
Full details of the roads affected are on the County Council’s website www.northyorks.gov.uk/tour Details of other services affected by the tour will also be added to the council website as they become available, including advice on transport, including any schools affected.