“Unmet demand” taxi use survey in York

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click to access

The York Council has confirmed that it is currently assessing whether there is any “unmet demand” for taxis in the City. The results of the survey may lead to additional licenses being issued.

The revelation comes in papers issued for a “scrutiny” committee meeting taking place on 4th June.

The meeting will review progress being made on other issues relating to Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles including a move towards the use of battery powered cars.

The Council is continuing to seek additional taxi ranks in the City and claims it is now displaying a map of existing taxi ranks on its web site.

Historic 1909 tram shelter to be restored

tramshelter

An historic shelter, provided for York’s electric tram services in 1909, is being restored as part of the Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF), awarded Council by the Department for Transport in 2012.

Used by millions of passengers over the years catching trams, until the system was decommissioned in 1935, then buses, the half timbered passenger shelter outside the Railway Station is being restored through York’s Better Bus Area Programme.

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“Free” car parking go ahead despite congestion fears

“Free” car parking at some City centre car parks will be introduced – possibly as soon as next week.

Castle short stay car park

Castle short stay car park

Tory and Labour Councillors combined to vote down a proposal which would have seen the “free” period restricted to off peak hours.

Instead the scheme will start at 8:000am the height of the rush hour. It will still finish at 11:00am.

The meeting, at which the issued was discussed yesterday, did not receive any new information about the effects that the concession will have on traffic levels on the highways network.

The plan could operate for up to 12 months and applies only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Most of the best used car parks – including Castle – are excluded from the concession.

 

Breakthrough in journey planning in York

click to access Google Maps

click to access Google Maps

Google have added a comprehensive bus timetable to their “Google Maps” web and app sites.

The facility allows users to compare the time it would take to use different forms of transport and the length of the journey.

The site gives access to bus timetables and routes across the whole country.

The site already provides details of local cycle tracks and can provide a recommended optimum walking route as an alternative.

Its advantage over previous systems, is that it allows for integrated journey planning across the whole country.

It is also available on some mobiles.

More here

 

 

Three women try out bike travel for three months

 York Bike Belles, York’s cycling community for women, launches their “3 women 3 bikes 3 months” scheme this week to inspire more women to combine travel and exercise. Three local women who are new to cycling, have been given three bikes and asked to blog about their journey into cycling over the next three months.

HistoricalImageWomanBikeThe scheme, which is supported by the charity Sustrans and City of York Council’s i-Travel York initiative, launches with a new video this week.

Only 1 in 4 cyclists are women and 75% of women never cycle at all. Recent research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that the biggest threat to women’s health was physical inactivity.

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York Council plans 10,000 capacity event at Huntington Stadium

Star-studded concert will launch a weekend of ‘Grand Départy!’ celebrations in York

Russell Watson

Russell Watson

‘People’s Tenor’ Russell Watson, X Factor favourites Rough Copy and Union J, and Kian Egan of Westlife-fame are among the line-up for a star-studded concert that will kick off a weekend of ‘Grand Départy’ celebrations in York.

Planned for the evening of Friday July 4, the Grand Départy Concert will take place at York’s Huntington Stadium.

The  size of the event has raised some serious questions about potential congestion, safety and security problems.

The Council has not yet started consultation with affected local residents and businesses in the Huntington area

 

The diverse line-up also includes York-based singer songwriter Alistair Griffin; British pop star Eylar Fox; The Loveable Rogues; 1980s bands Altered Images, Brother Beyond and the Blow Monkeys; and vocal harmony group The Overtones.

10,000 tickets are available for the event and demand is expected to be high. Priced at £29.50 for general admission, £35 for VIP seated tickets or £100 for a family ticket (for four people), they will be on sale from http://www.ticketline.co.uk/ from Friday 16 May.

The concert is just one element of an action-packed Grand Départy weekend planned for 4, 5 and 6 July. A host of other events and attractions will be taking place at locations across the city, including street theatre and live music.

Those who want to be at the heart of the action throughout the course of the weekend should head to City of York Council’s three Spectator Hubs at Monk Stray, the Designer Outlet and Millennium Bridge, where there will be family entertainment, big screens, refreshments, merchandise and much more.

For more information about the Spectator Hubs, visit: http://www.experiencetherace.com/

 

 

Real time maps of York – weather and traffic congestion

Residents can now access a radar map showing current weather conditions across the county. Click map for access. http://preview.wunderground.com/wundermap

click to access

click to access

And a reminder that a real time map is also available showing congestion levels, current and planned road works http://roadworks.org/

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click to access

Cross-party review of Lendal Bridge trial moves a step closer

Lendal Bridge signs

York Council’s Labour leader has finally backed Liberal Democrat calls for a cross-party scrutiny review of the Lendal Bridge trial, saying “it is the right thing to do”.

The Liberal Democrat Group has called for an independent review of the trial by the council’s cross-party scrutiny committee. The Lib Dems say there are still unanswered questions over the trial, which was abandoned last month after a Government Traffic Adjudicator ruled the Labour run council had no power to issue penalty fines. The Lib Dems say it is essential that lessons are learnt so that future attempts at tackling city-centre congestion are more successful.

At last night’s Cabinet meeting the Council Leader, James Alexander, was challenged on the issue by Lib Dem Councillors Ann Reid and Ian Cuthbertson and admitted that it would be right to hold a review if that is what opposition councillors wanted.Before last night, Labour had failed to support a full scrutiny review of the trial and instead announced plans for a ‘commission’ to look at the more general issue of congestion in York.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Transport on City of York Council, commented:

“I am pleased that the Labour leader has finally appeared to back our calls for a full cross-party scrutiny review of the Lendal Bridge trial. He now needs to ensure that his fellow Labour councillors support the move and play a full role in the process.

“We need a proper review in public to get answers to the questions which Labour have ducked so far. These include how the Labour run council implemented a scheme which was ruled ‘unlawful’, why the signage was so poor that 50,000 motorists were fined, and why there no real public consultation before the trial.

“We also need to understand why in the face of overwhelming opposition from residents and local businesses Labour pushed on with the closure beyond its original six months. And why Labour is using taxpayers’ money to fund its legal battle to now justify the botched closure.

“Only by properly reviewing the Lendal Bridge trial and learning what went wrong can the council hope to be more successful in other attempts at tackling congestion.I recognise that there are serious challenges for the future, but it is crucial that we first learn the lessons from this episode.”

A video of last night’s Cabinet meeting can be found here: http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts Cllr James Alexander made his statement during the ‘Public Participation’ section in response to Cllr Ann Reid.

The Liberal Democrat Group will formally submit the topic for scrutiny review at next week’s Annual Scrutiny Work Planning Event.