LibDems force Council to reopen Lendal Bridge

Watch out for confused drivers!

Watch out for confused drivers!

The Council has announced that the ANPR cameras on Lendal bridge will be switched off on Saturday.

They are also covering up the signs advertising the restrictions.

The arrangement is to allow a “Trades Union march” through the City centre.

The march coincides with the arrival in the City of the Liberal Democrat spring conference (Hooray!).

Hitherto the Council has said that it could not suspend the restrictions or switch off the ANPR cameras as this would “confuse motorists”.

It appears that the Labour Council in York remains under the control of the Trade Unions despite claims to the contrary after their conference last week.

Details of the route of the march can be found here.

Marchers/shoppers should be on the look out for large numbers of confused drivers.

City centre visitor numbers show small increase in February

increase-footfall-retail

Continuing mild weather, and a recovering economy, boosted visitor numbers in York City centre by 3% during February compared to the same month in 2013.

Although the increase is less than is being experienced in similar High Streets elsewhere in the country, no doubt tourism chiefs will point to the success of special events such as the Viking Festival as part of the explanation for the reversal in fortunes.

The modest increase is unlikely to be enough to deflect criticism from the unpopular Lendal bridge closure which continues to dog the reputation of York City centre.

Huge increases in car parking charges – which are scheduled to be introduced later in the spring when York residents will lose their “Minster badge” discounts – are another cause for apprehension.

The first Saturday in March saw 38,882 visitors recorded on the Parliament Street footfall cameras.

This compared to 50,054 on the equivalent Saturday last year.

The full footfall figures can be seen by clicking here.

Potholes blight York roads

Despite a relatively mild winter, the number of potholes appearing on local roads continues to increase.

In the main this is a result of major cuts to maintenance investment implemented by the new Labour administration when they took office in 2011.

City of York Council

Road repairs expenditure

Year

Pothole reports

Resurfacing

Basic maintenance

Total

2012/13

2492

£1,570,000

£616,700

£2,186,700

2011/12

1566

£2,134,000

£877,200

£3,011,200

2010/11

2860

£1,706,000

£1,008,000

£2,714,000

2009/10

966

£1,604,000

£1,096,000

£2,700,000

 

The York Council will in 2014/15 return to its pre 2011 levels of investment, but for many roads the change will come too late. A poorly maintained highway costs much more to repair than one that has had some routine maintenance.

Potholes on Askham Lane

Potholes on Askham Lane

Pothole on Beagle Ridge Drive

Pothole on Beagle Ridge Drive

We believe that the Council should use the £1.3 million, that it has raised by fining drivers on Lendal and Coppergate, on dealing with the repairs backlog.

Cornlands Estates – residents rally behind “tidy up” campaign

The campaign to have the Thoresby, St Stephens, Cornlands and Tennent Road estate given a “make over” has gained substantial support from residents.

The main areas for improvement so far identified include:

Gulleys need clearing

Gulleys need clearing

Gates and fences need repairing

Gates and fences need repairing

Garage areas need cleaning and resurfacing

Garage areas need cleaning and resurfacing

Snickets need resurfacing

Snickets need resurfacing

Pathways blocked

Pathways blocked

Vandalism at parks

Vandalism at parks

Dumping on snickets

Dumping on snickets

Damaged verges

Damaged verges

1. Repairs to verges and protective posts (or selective bitmacing)

2. Verge trimming

3. More car parking.

4. Weed removal.

5. Repairs to gates and fencing.

6. Snicket and other resurfacing

7. Gulley cleaning

8. A major spring clean of communal areas, garages, snickets, forecourts including painting street furniture, replacing notices etc etc.

9. Trees/hedges cutting back from paths and boundaries.

Housing is the one area where there haven’t been any cuts.

Over £13 million is held by the Council in reserves(!)

Yet this decline happens?

More off road car parking needed

More off road car parking needed

Foxwood residents act on dog fouling problems

Foxwood Residents Association members turned out in force yesterday 1 March to blitz the dog fouling problem.

Former Council leader Andrew Waller (yellow jacket) joined residents in their anti dog fouling campaign

Former Council leader Andrew Waller (yellow jacket) joined residents in their anti dog fouling campaign

Residents walked the area bounded by Tedder Road to the north and Acomb Wood Drive to the south spraying any dog dirt with fluorescent biodegradable paint.

This action draws people’s attention to the issue and avoids them treading in the mess.

It also identifies particular areas where there is a significant problem and where further action, including photographing offenders and reporting them, may occur.

Further action will be taken in the autumn to see whether there has been a reduction in the problem.

The York Council is being pressed to reintroduce the Dog Warden service which was scrapped a couple of years ago.

Scrapping Minster badge “would threaten evening economy”

parking-charges-car-park-ticket-machine-149887544

The Labour leadership have been asked to clarify their policy on evening charges following their decision on Thursday to scrap resident’s car parking discounts.

As well as providing a reduced fee during the day, the Minster badge entitles residents to park for free at City centre car parks after 6:00pm.

Those without badges are charged £2.

The Minster badge is being replaced by a “frequent user” card but this will cost £20 and will be available to anyone.

The Council have also been criticised for not extending the discounts available to small/low emission vehicles in the City.

York Council “chair fairy” reaches Eco Depot

eco depot chairs

The York Councils apparently insatiable appetite for new furniture has taken a new twist.

Just 5 years after the new “eco” depot was opened at Hazel Court the Council has decided to buy a completely new set of chairs.

The move follows the purchase of new desks and other equipment for the building.

The Council was criticised before its move into West Offices for buying completely new furniture at a cost of over £2.4 million.

Amongst the purchases were 2405 new chairs.

NB. On Thursday the Council announced that it was sacking 240 of its staff.

School parking camera “spy” van unveiled

City of York Council is introducing a new CCTV road safety camera car to help make children safer on their journey to and from school.

BadgerHillSafetyCar__2_

The car will patrol the area immediately outside schools at pick-up and drop-off times, issuing £70 Fixed Penalty Notices to cars parked illegally – and unsafely – from next month.

The scheme is being brought in following concerns from head teachers about dangerous parking outside their schools and forms part of a wider initiative – the Parents’ Parking Pledge – which encourages parents and carers across York to pledge their support to parking safely and considerately when taking their children to and from school.

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