All of this York stone pavement would be lost if Connecting Leeds goes ahead

Described as a “bus consultation” by the council and by Metro, “Connecting Leeds” would entail major alterations to the infrastructure along the A660. Here’s a summary of most of the proposed changes from Adel to Woodhouse Moor:

• Removal of 7 metres of the grass verge all the way along Otley Old Road.
• Floating bus stops (these are bus stops set forward into the road that have a cycle lane behind them).
• Removal of the grass verge at St Chad’s.
• Closing the entrance to Weetwood Lane and creating a large plaza there for users of the adjacent pub.
• Pushing back the 150 year old stone wall on Headingley Lane an unspecified distance into the fields on Headingley Hill.
• “Altering” the junction of Headingley Lane with Victoria Road (presumably “altering” means demolishing shops).
• Banning the right turn from Woodhouse Street onto Headingley Lane, and the right turn from Hyde Park Road onto Woodhouse Lane, and diverting all this traffic onto Cliff Road.
• Widening the dual carriageway across Woodhouse Moor. It would be increased from 4 lanes to 5 lanes for half its length, and to 6 lanes for the other half.
• Removal of an unspecified amount of the grass verge adjacent to the inbound lane of the A660 across Woodhouse Moor.
• Removal of all the York stone pavement adjacent to the outbound lane across Woodhouse Moor to create a wider road.
• Extending the bus lay-by at Raglan Road backwards by an un-specified amount to create a “bus only” lane.
• Cutting down mature trees to enlarge the inbound bus stop at Hyde at Hyde Park Corner.
• Removal of the central reservation across Woodhouse Moor and the re-location of the lighting columns to either side of the dual carriageway. This would necessitate cutting back trees or even cutting them down to prevent them obscuring light.

The deadline for commenting on the proposals is this Friday, the 3rd August.