New parking restrictions at Woodthorpe shops

Signage has been installed in the car park behind the shops on Moorcroft Road with the aim of limiting the amount of time that vehicles can be parked there.

Car park signage

Residents using the shops and other local services can park for up to two hours, with no return within three hours. We understand that staff working in the local shops have been issued with permits allowing them to park for longer than two hours.

We believe that these restrictions have been introduced in response to concerns that some residents were using the car park as a ‘park & ride’ facility, parking up in the morning and getting the bus into town. This makes it more difficult for people using local services to find somewhere to park.

The car park is private land, and therefore the council has no role in establishing or enforcing parking restrictions on this land.

Parking boost for Dringfield Close residents

The installation of seven new parking bays for residents on Dringfield Close, off Chaloners Road, has been completed. The bays are constructed from ‘EcoGrid’ with gravel filling and have helped to address a chronic lack of parking provision in this narrow cul de sac.

The scheme was funded by the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward Committee budget and the Housing Environmental Improvement Programme.

Dringfield Close parking bays to be installed

City of York Council will start work on Wednesday 13th March to construct parking bays for residents of Dringfield Close, off Chaloners Road.

Seven parking bays will be created

This scheme is programmed to take 2 weeks, weather permitting and involves installing EcoGrid (plastic cell) surfacing.  These will be filled with gravel and a tarmac vehicle crossing will be constructed to access each bay. The contractor will be working between 8am and 3pm Monday to Friday, although some out of hours work may be required.

The scheme is supported by a combination of Ward Committee and Housing Environmental Improvement Programme funds. It comes soon after the recent creation new concrete bin storage area in Dringfield Close.

 

 

Drainage improvement works underway on Tadcaster Road

Following complaints raised by local Lib Dem councillors, works are underway on Tadcaster Road to improve surface water drainage outside the shops near the junction with Slingsby Grove.

The problem

The solution (hopefully!)

The parking bay next to the bus stop build-out is regularly flooded and the drainage channel clogged up with leaf mulch. It is hoped that new drainage arrangements will improve the situation and make it less likely that motorists will choose to park in the adjacent ‘Loading Only’ layby, which causes line of sight issues for residents exiting Slingsby Grove.

Traffic survey results revealed

Traffic surveys undertaken on Thanet Road and Moorcroft Road have provided evidence to support calls for action to tackle problem parking and speeding concerns.

The surveys were supported by local Lib Dem councillors though funding from the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward Committee budget.

Residents’ concerns about speeding traffic and parking provision on Thanet Road have been backed up by the findings of the survey. The aim of the survey undertaken between 21st and 27th June was to gather evidence to support calls for safety measures to be put in place, following a number of accidents and incidents where residents’ cars have been damaged.

Thanet Road survey zone

Findings from the survey included:

  • Ten near misses between two cars
  • One near miss between a car and a HGV
  • One near miss between two HGVs

Councillor Ashley Mason said “The findings from the survey will further strengthen our calls for action to improve road safety. We have written to the council’s Transport chief, including the survey findings, to ask that options be considered for an engineering solution.”

Parking problems on Moorcroft Road outside the doctors and dentists prompted the survey at that location, which was undertaken between 17th and 23rd July. The aim of the survey was to gather evidence on the nature of the parking problems which can cause the bus to get stuck and footpaths to be obstructed.

A previous proposal for extending double yellow lines outside the doctor’s surgery attracted some criticism, with the suggestion that double yellow lines outside the dentist would have more impact. However council officers opposed this suggestion.

Moorcroft Road survey zone

Some headline findings from the survey included:

  • Three near misses between two cars
  • Four near misses between a car and a bus
  • One near miss between a car and a moped
  • One near miss between a parked car and a mobility scooter

Councillor Stephen Fenton said “We will keep residents informed and engaged on further developments. In the meantime we recently arranged for the existing double yellow lines on Moorcroft Road to be re-painted, as they had almost faded away.

“We have been in contact with the new owners of the shops and car parks to ask that ‘Customer Parking Only’ signs be installed, in response to complaints about the car parks being used a ‘Park & Ride’. We have also asked for the overgrown vegetation to be cut back.”

 

Talks on Balloon Fiesta traffic chaos

A meeting has been held to discuss the traffic chaos caused by the Balloon Fiesta on the Knavesmire on Saturday 29 September.

There were numerous examples of illegal parking, like here on Ainsty Grove

The meeting, on 4 October, involved City of York Council transport officers, Make it York, the Police and the event organisers. We understand that they discussed what happened and if there were any possible solutions to avoid a repeat of the problems caused.

Importantly, the council has told the organisers that they have to submit a full traffic and parking management plan early in 2019, drawn up by a fully qualified company, which will need to be approved by the Head of Transport before any decision is made to allow the event to take place again on the Knavesmire.

Local residents have asked why the race day traffic arrangements weren’t used for this event. The response we have received is that a wider traffic management plan such as the one in place for race meetings was not considered appropriate for this event owing to the extended and flexible arrival and departure times. In addition, the use of this type of plan could have created further problems given the poor management of the car parking by the event organisers.

 

Call for answers on Balloon Festival fiasco

Local Lib Dem councillors are demanding answers to why the Balloon Festival on the Knavesmire held from 28 to 30 September led to gridlock on local roads.

Nose to tail traffic jams and inconsiderate and illegal parking meant that many residents were trapped in their homes, or were unable to get back home. Buses were also stuck, leading to lengthy delays.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Cllr Stephen Fenton has asked Make it York to explain why the volume of traffic was not foreseen, what traffic management plans were in operation, and why there were no Police or stewards in evidence.

Information provided by council officers in recent days has confirmed that a traffic management plan such as the one used for race meetings was not considered appropriate for the event, due to the extended and flexible arrival and departure times.

Council officials are to meet with Make it York, the Police and the Festival organisers on 3 October to look at what went wrong and what lessons can be learned.

Councillor Fenton commented  “I saw for myself what happened on Tadcaster Road and surrounding streets on Saturday afternoon. It was a chaotic, and at times dangerous situation.

There were numerous examples of illegal parking, like here on Ainsty Grove

“Both local residents and visitors to the event were badly let down. When word of the £5 parking fee spread, many visitors seemed to decide to park in residential streets off Tadcaster Road, leading to chaos in many streets.

Irresponsible parking meant that the exit from Whin Road onto Bracken Road was blocked

“The event organisers need to take their share of responsibility and explain why they put in place the parking arrangements that they did, and why they did not do more to promote the use of Park & Ride.

“There is absolutely no way that this event should go ahead next year on this site unless plans are put in place – and publicised to visitors and communicated to residents and local councillors – that will avoid a repeat.”

 

Views sought on Highmoor Road parking options

Over recent months local Lib Dem councillors have been working with council officers to try to come up with possible solutions to help ease parking issues on Highmoor Road.

Vehicles parked opposite the entrance to Highmoor Close can make it difficult for large vehicles to get in and out, which has led to damage being done to the grass verges on the corners.

An initial idea was to create a parking bay in the verge outside the flats, similar to the one outside the flats on Wains Road. There are however utilities in the verge which would need to be diverted if tarmac was laid on the verge, which would be prohibitively expensive.

Residents are now being asked to have their say about three possible options.

Option 1 

Option 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would provide 10 parking spaces aligned parallel to the boundary wall. Because this uses most of the lawned area, it requires a large area to allow vehicles to manoeuvre and to exit in a forward direction. This whole area would need to be converted to the EcoGrid construction.

Example of EcoGrid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The proposal would also require the provision of 2 wide vehicular crossings from Highmoor Road to allow access and exit from the parking area. Due to the extensive area needing to be provided, and the wider crossings, the cost of this option would be around £40,000.

There are various options available, eg this could be reduced to 5 spaces thereby considerably reducing the area of EcoGrid and hence the overall cost. We have concerns about the feasibility of this option because the paths down to flats 10 & 12 and 26 & 28 would be removed.

Option 2

Option 2 (map should say 6, not 8, spaces)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This option allows for 6 spaces, requiring the installation of 275m² of EcoGrid and a 4.5m wide vehicle crossing off Highmoor Road into the parking area. The cost of this option is around £27,500.

The access path to the front door would need to be removed / relocated to a more suitable position, but a shorter section of the front boundary wall will need to be removed compared to Option 1.

The option does result in the need for only one vehicular access, at a more conventional width.

Option 3

Option 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This option allows for 4 spaces, requiring the installation of 140m² of EcoGrid and a 4.5m wide vehicle crossing off Highmoor Road into the parking area. The cost of this option is around £19,000.

The access path to the front door would need to be removed / relocated to a more suitable position and a short section of the front boundary wall removed.

The fourth option is to do nothing and leave the lawned area in front of the flats as it is.

Residents are invited to send comments on the options to Cllr Stephen Fenton at cllr.sfenton@york.gov.uk or call 01904 787988.