By John Baron
A pilot scheme to tackle rat running and speeding traffic in two West Leeds neighbourhoods has this week moved a step closer to reality.
Council highways officers are looking to introduce permanent road closures to residential areas of Victoria Park in Bramley following a series of vehicle crashes and a campaign by local residents.
A second scheme in Lower Wortley aims to reduce vehicles rat-running in the Ryedale Avenue area.
A council report said: “It is hoped the changes will mean a reduction in both car usage and air pollution, encouraging people to lead more active lifestyles by getting out and about on foot or by bike.”
It said the schemes would lead to ‘more people replacing some of their car journeys (notably short trips 2km or under) with walking, wheeling or cycling’.
The report – which is currently out for consultation – authorised the council to move forward with the schemes in Spring or early Summer, with the aim of completion by the Autumn.
It also overruled four objections to the Victoria Park proposals from local residents and agreed to progress with the making of the traffic regulation orders, tendering the work and construction.
WLD has previously reported on traffic issues in the Victoria Park area. Local resident Paul Chatterton had been campaigning for action to make Victoria Park Avenue, at the junction with Lancastre Grove, safer following a number of collisions and near misses on the road.
The schemes – first developed in 2021 – were paused due to the end of anticipated government grant funding programme in 2022/23. Phase one of works also includes a scheme in Chapeltown.
The full report can be read in full here.
- This article was updated on Wednesday, 1 April to clarify the proposals in Wortley include the Ryedale Avenue area. A previous proposal in the Dragon Road area is not being taken forward.
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This will only exacerbate the nightmare that is the 5 lanes end roundabout. The council is delusional regarding more walking and cycling. Another waste of money that will only benefit a handful of people.
I’m fuming over this, the traffic will be forced onto my street and my routes out of my property are blocked in several places thus making me use the VERY busy Broad Lane, where traffic queues past Hollybush school and I have children who need to cross my street and this makes it extremely hard. I received nothing for years about this happening and have not heard of any accidents since humps were installed which I feel are a much better option.
The Bramley one is a good idea in my opinion. People rag it through those streets to get between Broad Lane and Raynville Road/Wyther Lane. Hopefully stopping the rat-running should make it a lot easier for residents, the only people who really need to drive on those streets.
The proposed scheme in Bramley (which is actually in Armley) will push more traffic onto Outgang Lane which is already a congested street and very narrow and also runs alongside a Primary School.
Rachel Reeves conducted a survey in August 2020 and the results were posted on the “Safer Raynville Rd” facebook group and are still visible on facebook.
11 streets were mentioned by residents as having problems with speeding traffic including Lancastre Grove and Victoria Park Avenue, however the main problems were elsewhere – this is a quote from the survey:-
“Out of these (11 streets), Armley Ridge Road, Raynville Rise, Crescent, and Outgang Lane were the most commented on. People cited these roads as adding to the issues with speed on Raynville Road.”
So this scheme will move more traffic onto the already problematic Outgang Lane. Maybe it’s a matter of thos who shout loudest (and with connections to LCC) get heard the most.
Don’t bother clicking on the link for the full report can be read here as there is nothing available to view!
Thanks for flagging. Odd that the full reports are no longer available for the press and public to view.
John Baron, WLD editor
The link to a page on the LCC democracy site is working and includes seven attachments (checked 02/04/26)
Thanks for confirming that they’re working today.
Please can Connecting Leeds confirm where the site notices were posted in early January 2026 alerting residents to this imminent change, as I could only see 2 or 3 around the Lilac Housing and none at all on my street on the opposite side of Kirkstall Avenue or those adjacent which are directly affected.