Council admits set back to parking space availability web page

The York Council has admitted that its plans, to reintroduce web site information on the availability of car parking spaces, has run into more problems.

It is over 3 years since the service was discontinued. The Council had previously promised that accurate information would be available from the end of March but this deadline passed without the upgrade being completed.

Sources within the Council say that plans to install new loop counters in the surface of car parks – near entrances and exits – have had to be abandoned. Apparently the state of repair of the bitmac surfaces was too poor to allow the installation to take place (which will probably not come as a surprise to users of the Castle car park).

Blossom Street VMS

Now we understand that the Council hopes to utilise video camera based detection technology to get the system working again. This technology is currently being installed for traffic signal detection across the City.

The Council web site – as well as misrepresenting the number of parking spaces available – also lists car parks which closed some years ago.

On a more positive note, the Council has confirmed that all variable message signs in the City centre are now working with the exception of the sign on Fishergate (which is awaiting a spare part).

Message signs working in York City centre again

..but still no car park space availability info

The York Council has repaired most of the Variable Message Signs which guide drivers around the City centre. Those on Blossom Street, Bootham, Clarence Street, Lawrence Street and Heworth Green are working.

The sign on Fishergate is still faulty

All the signs have been displaying warnings about the upcoming temporary closure of Gillygate.

Unfortunately, there has been no tangible progress on reviving the car parking space availability signs or web site.

None of the parking availability signs are working.

The Council’s web site continues to list car parks that have closed and the space availability data is inaccurate.

The Council expected this issue to have been addressed before the end of March, so it is disappointing that the update was not implemented before the busy Easter holiday period began.

York Council says parking signs will be fixed by end of March

At long last the Council has responded to our questions about the failure of its parking space availability policies.

Following our article published in December, which revealed that the Council’s web site was out of date and that many street signs were faulty, we asked the Council when repair work would be completed.

On line site parking space availability click to access

The on line map was a particular concern as it had not shown parking space availability for over 4 years and some of the listed car parks had actually closed.

After some delay, the Council has now said that the on line map – in line with a new mobile app – “will be updated by the end of March”.

This will include an update to the listed tariffs.

The delays in restoring the parking space availability feature (known as the Car Park Guidance System) is put down to issues with the slow roll out of the Council’s new fibre optic network. Apparently the car parking counting devices are currently being refurbished in time for the March relaunch.

The Council also confirms that all of the Variable Message Signs which can  be seen on the streets of the city were faulty.

The Council says it has

Parking space availability

“taken the novel step of working with a suppler to develop a new ‘technology package’ that can be inserted into the existing sign cases as this is a much cheaper way of renewing the VMS than simply replacing them.

The first four pre-production signs that have been used to test this approach are now operational and under test in the City, and the Heworth Green and Foss Islands Road CPGS signs are part of this group.

Work is now underway to apply this renewal technique to the five remaining City-centre ‘free text’ VMS and these will be back on street and operational by the end of March.

The remaining twenty CPGS ‘Insert’ signs (right) located in the City centre will be refurbished and brought back into use between April and August 2017″.

There are no plans to provide additional VMS signs in the City.

Finally the Council has confirmed that it is working with a number of GPS/SatNav suppliers to include real time parking space availability features on their devices. 

Most vehicle information signs in York not working

VMSA report published today reveals that most of the variable message signs (VMS) in York are no longer working. 

There are a total of 46 signs in the City with 20 located on the Outer Ring Road, 6 on the approaches to the inner ring road plus 21 which indicate car park space availability.

The signs were installed between 1998 and 2003 but have fallen into disuse partly because some of the electrical components are now obsolete.

The Council was criticised in 2013 for allowing the signs to deteriorate and for discontinuing its “on line” car parking space availability monitor.

A meeting taking place next week will consider how to modernise the signs using LED technology.

The cost of £6000 each, means that a total budget of £275,000 would be needed to refurbish all signs. Only £90,000 is available, although it would be possible to reallocate funds from other projects – such as the plan to continue to provide free bus travel for teenagers (replacing it with a half price fare offer) – to get the signs back into service sooner

The current plan is for the car park space availability signs to be renewed over a period of 3 years.

Information signs on the northern by-pass will be “mothballed”. They may be reactivated as and when the A1237 is dualled. Officials claim that satellite technology systems now provide better and more up to date information (although not generally on car parking space availability or “off route” blockages)

NB. The same meeting will consider an objection to a plan to change parking restrictions in Burdyke Avenue