Urbie bus sessions on Chapelfields Estate

Westfield Ward Committee has dedicated a pot of funding from their 2016 to 2017 ward budget towards provision of activities for young people on Chapelfields Estate.

Part of this funding has been used to commission Urbie bus sessions at St Aiden’s Church.

The first session is on Friday 30 June 2017 between 7pm and 9pm. Sessions will continue every Friday for the next 4 weeks, after which the provision will be reviewed.

Urbie is a fun place for young people to engage in craft activities, watch films, play board games, take part in sports activities and somewhere to go and talk.

Youth workers will be encouraging young people in the area to come along.

This is the first time the bus will be used by The Rock of York after acquiring it via asset transfer from the City of York Council.

Missing speed camera performance report found

We reported on claims made in April that the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) had claimed that University report had found that 8 accidents had been prevented as a result of the deployment of mobile speed camera vans in the county.

We did wonder at the time how they could possibly know?

Maybe accident reduction is about keeping drivers alert?

The police have previously admitted that they don’t record the trend in average/mean/top speeds recorded at the sites that they regularly monitor with cameras.

So there is currently no way of knowing whether vehicle speeds are reducing, or increasing, over a period of time.

Nor were the police able to provide accident data for monitored sites, although we still await a response from a fresh Freedom of Information request on this issue.

On 11th May, North Yorkshire Police emailed us to say that they “do not currently hold a copy of the study conducted by Newcastle University”

On 5th June, following further pressure,  the PCCs office provided a link to what they claimed was the University study. As we recorded at the time, this study concerned only Northumberland and appeared to have little relevance to the situation in North Yorkshire.

On 30thJune a further message was received from the PCCs office. It appears that they had now found a report (reproduced below).  It transpires that the report was based on a desk top study that had been undertaken in 2015

Unfortunately, the report covered a period between 2011 and 2014 where there had been a general downturn in accident figures across the whole of North Yorkshire.

We conclude that the Police and PCC have been evasive when responding to requests that they justify their expenditure on deploying additional mobile camera vans (There are 12 in the county now).

Too often it seems that the cameras are located at sites where the principal objective is to maximise revenue (the income from “speed awareness” courses is used by the police to offset the costs of the vans).

Recent accidents on the A64 may raise further concerns about the effectiveness of the policy.

The original intention of the speed vans had been to locate them at and near, accident black spots.

They would also spend some of their time in the suburbs, and in villages, as a way of reassuring residents who were concerned about speeding issues.

When we have the final information that we requested on accident levels we will write to the PCC.

If necessary, this will be followed by a formal complaint.

Newcastle University report for North Yorkshire Police and PCC

Local York Councillors backing “Hedgehog Awareness Week”

Hedgehog Awareness Week run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society which ran during the 1st week in May every year…. Waterproof stickers are placed on garden equipment and flyers distributed.

This years campaign was backed by local York Councillors

Happy hedgehog

Cllrs Fenton, Jackson and Waller remind residents to be careful where they use power garden tools

Work on resurfacing footpaths in Bellhouse Way starts next week

Resurfacing work will commence shortly on Bellhouse Way  and will subsequently extend into Acomb Wood Drive, Osprey Close and Pheasant Drive, Ainsty Park and part of Foxwood Lane.

Residents within the area to be reconstructed are being offered a discounted extension to, or new, vehicle crossing as part of this scheme, at cost.

Bellhouse Way – paths to be resurfaced

 

Parking by phone – Major changes in York but little warning

RingGo – click to access

The York Council has been criticised by users of the Pay by Phone car parking system for giving only 48 hours notice of a change in contractor.

The move means that users may have to re-register their phones with the new provider RingGo.

It takes about 15 minutes to set up the new RingGo app. The numeric car park identifiers are also being changed.

32 RingGo parking sites in York are listed on their web site.

No explanation for the change has been offered by the Council and it remains unclear who, for what reason and at what cost the change has been made.

The previous “Pay by phone” contractor was widely praised for the ease of use of its mobile phone “app” The system was introduced in the last decade as a way of eliminating the need for drivers to have change for the ticket cash machines. Cashless transactions are generally cheaper for the Council to administer and have lower security risks.

 In a statement issued yesterday the York Council said,
“motorists who use their mobile phone to pay for car parking in York are being warned about changes which may affect them from this Saturday (1 July).

From the weekend, the service will be provided by a new company – called RingGo.

It may mean some drivers will need to download a new app to their phone or dial a different number to pay for their parking.

New location codes are also being introduced, but these are being clearly displayed on signage in all car parks where the service is available.

Nine car parks and two coach parking areas are covered by RingGo.

Beyond that, there are no other changes and there will still be no need for motorists to scrabble around to find loose change for a ticket machine.

Minster badge holders will continue to receive a discount in all car parks apart from the one at Foss Bank.

Pay-by-phone has been running in York for several years and with drivers appreciating how easy it is to park with a credit or debit card and just a mobile phone.

Users of the old service must ensure they register with RingGo.  The process only takes a few minutes and can be completed by phone or online.

Instructions, and more information about parking-by-phone is available on the council’s website: york.gov.uk/PayParkingByPhone
(more…)