Picadilly

Day in My Life 2016+2026: Tree lined boulvards with beautiful environmentally sensitive buildings

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2026: 'Piccadilly is now a tree-lined boulevard with beautiful buildings on each side, that are constructed in an environmentally sensitive way and include some lovely homes for people on low incomes / retired people and people with young families.'
2026: ‘Piccadilly is now a tree-lined boulevard with beautiful buildings on each side, that are constructed in an environmentally sensitive way and include some lovely homes for people on low incomes / retired people and people with young families.’ Photo Credit: Catherine Sotheran

Contributed by June Tranmer

2016:
My normal day consists of getting up early, doing my exercises, having breakfast, then getting on my bike (between 7:30 and 9, depending on the day) and cycling along the mess that is Piccadilly on my way to work in Museum Street. I work in a 140 year old listed building which has damp issues due to blocked drains (because the council hasn’t got the money to spend on regular clearing of drains, so they only go out to those who shout the loudest or are in the most urgent need). Parts of the building are not accessible to people with mobility issues, which makes every day a challenge as we need to work round this. We are trying to find a better premises to move to soon. I usually need to stay at work until about 7pm, and then I hop on my bike and shake my head in exasperation at the car drivers who insist on turning right from Lendal into Museum Street, even though there is a sign clearly saying no right turn…Then I dash home to potter in my back yard (if there is still daylight / no rain) and have some supper and get on with evening jobs to do with my voluntary work. Some days I have meetings at different parts of the city, and I usually cycle – worrying about the amount of fumes I am breathing in and trying not to get hit by car drivers who are oblivious to bikes and may very well knock me over at any point (has happened twice now in the past few years)

2026:
In 10 years’ time, I imagine that I am living in a carbon neutral home in a community setting, where some people work from home, there are some local shops and services, but we are still a part of the city of York, which has had many many more trees planted so we can breathe again in the city centre, and there are streets that have trams, buses and bikes but very few cars, with traffic flowing freely and smoothly. People are healthier, happier and less aggressive on the roads. My workplace has moved to a ground floor, accessible city centre location and I can still cycle or walk to work as I choose, but Piccadilly is now a tree-lined boulevard with beautiful buildings on each side, that are constructed in an environmentally sensitive way and include some lovely homes for people on low incomes / retired people and people with young families. I could go on but have run out of time – in 10 years’ time, I will have all the time I need to do the things I want to do!

Day in My Life 2016+2026: Trees, Street life and city living

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2026: 'You can just make out some of the brightly coloured residential blocks which fringe the city walls. These high density units have brought young and old back to the city centre. Some of the units operate as retirement complexes with free accommodation offered to students who support their elders. The city feels vibrant on days like this. The tourists are here to see the street life, just as much as the history, of the this, the North's 'Greenhouse City'.
2026: ‘You can just make out some of the brightly coloured residential blocks which fringe the city walls. These high density units have brought young and old back to the city centre. Some of the units operate as retirement complexes with free accommodation offered to students who support their elders. The city feels vibrant on days like this. The tourists are here to see the street life, just as much as the history, of the this, the North’s “Greenhouse City”‘.

Contributed by Paul Osborne

2016:
My son wanted a new phone. It’s a weekday and I’m not working so I offer to go and help him ask the right questions. We walk in to the city centre, It’s pleasant weather and we take a direct route with interesting views all the way – the river, Cliffords Tower, green space and the pedestrian square in Coppergate. There’s a plethora of phone shops to choose from, both new and second hand. What will these shops become in ten years time? They weren’t here ten years ago. We open a new bank account now he’s earning from his brass band gigs. The staff are helpful. I walk to my in laws via Micklegate and think how lucky we are to have such varied architecture, small scale independent shops, and memorable streetscapes. I could look at a picture of any street in this city and I could tell where it was. I’m not sure you could do that in any other city. Every third shop is a bar, a takeaway restaurant or empty and it’s a shame these can’t contribute to the life of the street during the day.

There’s an absence of trees on Blossom Street, and I feel compelled to detour via Scarcroft Green. The sound of children playing in the school yard is timeless and makes me feel young again, but sad too thinking that I have no reason to enter a school I used to visit every day. There are dog walkers, toddlers playing and people crossing the green. It’s a popular, safe place. It’s calming too and if I had more time I would linger on a bench or a swing. You hope this space and its trees will be here forever, available to all, its value priceless.

2026:
Son and daughter have come to visit for the weekend. Having moved away, they miss home and are thinking of renting in the new settlement on the edge of the city, attracted by the thriving tech/arts economy, and cheap transport – an all-night express bus service and parallel illuminated cycleway have recently been completed. We walk into the city centre, the same route we’ve always taken. What’s changed? Electric cars mean you have to be careful stepping off the kerb. But there are fewer cars now and they travel slowly, their speed inhibitors primed to detect pedestrians and bikes at the roadside. The footways are more attractive, the services have all been moved beneath them to minimize road closures and this has gone hand in hand with investment and maintenance of new block paving, its colour and pattern setting a unique continental signature for the city.

The Arts Barge is flourishing – during the day soothing classical music drifts across the water, and there’s laughter at the tables. On the river, a suspended walkway offers an uninterrupted route to the city centre on each bank. It’s wide enough to attract a variety of street vendors selling local wares. In Piccadilly a thriving bazaar quarter is established where old office buildings have been offered at low rents to house start up shops and cafes. New pedestrian routes and suspended walkways penetrate the ground and lower floors forming part of an aerial walkway linked to the city walls. You are immediately aware of more young people, now encouraged to stay in the city once they graduate, investing their ideas and energy in start up businesses, all conspicuously branded Made in York.

The weather is fine today. Seats and benches are put out on most street corners, attracting older residents, some chatting, some playing the latest board games with local youths, a recent revival since the demise of handset culture.

You can just make out some of the brightly coloured residential blocks which fringe the city walls. These high density units have brought young and old back to the city centre. Some of the units operate as retirement complexes with free accommodation offered to students who support their elders. The city feels vibrant on days like this. The tourists are here to see the street life, just as much as the history, of the this, the North’s ‘Greenhouse City’.