“Free” parking scheme – report published

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The York Council has sneaked an additional report onto the agenda of its “Cabinet” meeting which is taking place on 24th April.

It will discuss the plans for the free City centre parking scheme – which was originally scheduled to be considered on 6th May.

The change to the agenda has not been formally publicised, so many residents will be unaware that they have very little time – over Easter – to make their views known.

The report says that any continuation of “free” parking – after the Vanguard section S106 monies have run out – will be funded by City centre businesses that will be expected to participate in a “Business Improvement District” (BID).

The last attempt to form a BID in York floundered as most businesses did not wish to subscribe.

The Council has admitted that the scheme will cost it £275,000 in income plus any reduced income resulting from those drivers who switch to the free period from other times of the day (or from those car parks on which charges wills till apply like Bootham Row).

Our estimate of £500,000 a year in lost income seems about right.

The Council seems to have no idea what the impact on the viability of park and ride services will be.  No allocation for lost fare revenue is included in the costings.

No consultation with NCP and other private sector car park operators appears to have taken place.

The report is silent on how visitors will be reminded that, if they arrive during a “free” period, they may still need to purchase a pay and display ticket if they intend to continue their stay after 11:00am.

Some Council car parks will still charge £2 an hour during the “free” period. Quite why anyone would chose to pay when they can park for free nearby is not explained!

No assessment is made of the effect that the scheme will have on peak period traffic volumes. There is no acknowledgement of the impact that the change may have on deliveries which will be taking place in the Footstreets during these hours.

No attempt has been made to explain why the free period starts at 8:00am – before many businesses and most shops have opened.

We still believe that this scheme has not been fully thought through although the Council Leader James Al;exander asserts that he has spent 6 months working up the plan!

£200,000 being spent on repairing York roads which are to be used by Tour De France cyclists

The Council has revealed that it is spending £200,000 filling potholes and resurfacing the roads over which Tour de France competitors will ride in July.

Vesper Drive residents pitch to have their cul de sac resurfaced

Vesper Drive residents pitch to have their cul de sac resurfaced

Competition for the funding is hotting up with some residents (right) spotting an opportunity to get much needed road repairs completed.

The Council has now cancelled the meeting which was to have considered how the supplementary highways resurfacing budget will be spent. No explanation has been given and no new date, for a replacement meeting, has been offered!

Meanwhile the Council has said, in response to a Freedom of Information request, that it still plans to accommodate 800 caravans and 2000 tents on Monk Stray over the tour weekend (5th/6th July).

There is some concern that the “slimmed down” City of York Council has agreed to a programme which is does not have the resources to organise properly. 

Only a handful of Councillors have been briefed on the detail of what is happening (or not happening)

Lendal Bridge – Council closure case published

The York Council has finally published the presentation which apparently led to Labour Councillors abandoning the traffic restrictions on Lendal Bridge.

click to download full presentation

click to download full presentation

The papers have crept into the daylight following a vigorous campaign by Liberal Democrats and residents for a full scrutiny review of the fiasco.

The presentation is not the final report, which is still scheduled to be considered by the Cabinet on 6th May.

However there are some glaring anomalies in the claims made by officials.

In claiming that hotel and bus use had increased, they have failed to include benchmark comparisons; preferring just to assume that any favourable trend is a result of the Lendal Bridge restrictions.

In truth the economic recovery and good weather have played a part in attracting more visitors to the City over the last few months.

& First buses claimed in September that their new fare pricing and routing policies, would attract more passengers (as appears to be the case although robust bus reliability measures are missing).

Also missing are details of the number of PCNs issued during the period between the end of the trial and the decision to abort the traffic regulation order.

York road repairs list “missing in action”

The York Council has issued a media release claiming to list the streets that will benefit from this years highway resurfacing programme.

The list is a supplement to the base programme which was agreed in March. It will add £2 million worth of work and bring expenditure back up to the level inherited by the Labour Council, in 2011. During the last 2 years the highways resurfacing budget had lost nearly £4 million in much needed investment.

Footpath and verge repair needed in Little Green Lane in Acomb

Footpath and verge repair needed in Little Green Lane in Acomb

Interested residents who would like to know whether their roads is included on the list will be disappointed.

The list is missing from the Couincils web site!

It is the latest in a series of irregularities which has seen

  • a report on Lendal bridge supressed,
  • “key” decisions reclassified to prevent an all party public debate,
  • an attempt to sabotage the independent report writing protocol,
  • misuse of taxpayer funded equipment to promote party political objectives,
  • misuse of the Councils media team to promote a “decision” (free parking) which hadn’t even been taken together with
  • the publication of incomplete/inaccurate information about the Local Plan.

The base highways resurfacing programme was first published last November and confirmed at a meeting held in March.

A copy can be read here.

Skip locations on Saturday

Although the Council has cut back on the number of amenity skips it provides, several residents associations continue to run programmes aimed at making it easier for tenants to get rid of unwanted items.

The skips are only in place for a few minutes and residents must ensure that they put any rubbish into the skips and do not leave it on the path or highway.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge