The combination of poor weather, seasonal traffic and the City centre traffic restrictions has led to high levels of traffic congestion in York today.
Click for real time map
Traffic congestion increasing in York
Latest Lendal Bridge report reveals 3000 drivers a week still being fined
No significant change to Park and Ride bus service journey times as total number fined climbs to 45,000.
The Council have now published an updated report on their web site assessing the impact of the Lendal Bridge closure.
Traffic on Lendal bridge after closure
Any hopes that the information would be objective and impartial are quickly dispelled as the report resorts to sloganising “York remains very much open for business” whatever that is supposed to mean.
The figures for Park and Ride show small increases in the number of passengers (following a trend evident for the last 6 years over which passenger growth on the services has been sustained each year).
Some services show small reductions in journey times since the Lendal Bridge restrictions were introduced. Others – like the link to the Designer Centre – show increases in journey times.
This rather confirms what is so obvious to many – that traffic congestion, on alternative routes to Lendal, is continuing to increase.
No information is provided on normal “stage carriage” bus services.
There was a 10% increase in traffic volumes on Clifton bridge when comparing November 2013 with the same month last year. Increased traffic volumes on Foss Islands Road are also evident.
The report makes no attempt to assess increases in journey times or costs for drivers. There is no information about pollution levels
The Council has also updated the tables showing the number of Penalty Charge Notices issued to drivers on Lendal Bridge and in Coppergate.
The numbers fined on Coppergate doubled to 595 during the St Nicholas Fayre week.
The number issued on Lendal Bridge is still regularly in excess of 2500 a week.
70% of the tickets issued are to visitors to the City
| Lendal: | |
| 02-08 Sept (4 days enforcement, commenced Wednesday | 1675 |
| 09-15 Sept 2015 (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event) | 2015 |
| 16-23 Sept (5 days enforcement, cameras updating) | 1766 |
| 23 – 29 September 2,762 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) | 2762 |
| 30 Sep – 6 October 1,885 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) | 1885 |
| 7 – 13 October 2,487 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) | 2487 |
| 14 – 20 October 3,640 PCNs issued | 3640 |
| 21 – 27 October 3,879 PCNs issued | 3879 |
| 28 Oct – 3 November 4,098PCNs issued | 4098 |
| 4 – 10 November 1,921 PCNs issued | 1921 |
| 11 – 17 November 3,172 PCNs issued | 3172 |
| 18 – 24 November 2,801 PCNs issued | 2801 |
| 25 Nov – 2 December 2,553 PCNs issued | 2553 |
| Coppergate: | |
| 15-18 August (4 days enforcement, commenced Wednesday) | 1085 |
| 19-25 August | 1741 |
| 26-01 Sept | 880 |
| 02-08 Septd | 850 |
| 09-15 Sept (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event) | 841 |
| 16-22 Sept (5 days enforcement, cameras updating and gas works commenced) | 324 |
| 23 – 29 September 405 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) | 405 |
| 30 Sep – 6 October 345 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) | 345 |
| 7 – 13 October 593 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) | 593 |
| 14 – 20 October 869 PCNs issued | 869 |
| 21 – 27 October 755 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) | 755 |
| 28 Oct – 3 November 416PCNs issued | 416 |
| 4 Nov – 10 November 146 PCNs issued # | 146 |
| 11 – 17 November 240 PCNs issued # | 240 |
| 18 – 24 November 251 PCNs issued # | 251 |
| 25 Nov – 2 December 595 PCNs issued | 595 |
– Of all PCNs reviewed, up to Monday 8 December 2013, there was a 30:70 split on YO and non-YO postcodes.
# – only one camera operational.
More problems for York real time traffic information site
Click to visit site
The much publicised, and very expensive, ITravel web site – launched at the beginning of the year by the York Council – is still plagued by gremlins.
It was heavily criticised for not providing the kind of real time traffic congestion camera input which has been widely available elsewhere for over a decade.
The responsible Councillor promised in October that this feature would be available within days.
But now the interactive map has crashed altogether and does not provide any information at all about car parks, road works etc.
It is an embarrassing “fail” for the City in the busy run up to Christmas and may have contributed to the sometimes chaotic traffic scenes which arose during the St Nicholas Fayre period.
Many private cars were seen using Lendal Bridge during restricted hours over the weekend suggesting that some may pay more for their Christmas shopping trip than they were anticipating.
97% of residents say traffic congestion in York is getting worse
Latest updated residents survey results
click to enlarge
90% say “lift Lendal Bridge access restrictions”
click to enlarge
An overwhelming majority of residents have given the thumbs down to the current closure restrictions on Lendal Bridge.
Responding to a survey carried out by the Liberal Democrats, in the Dringhouses, Woodthorpe and Hob Moor areas, only 8% have said that the trial is a success.
90% want the restrictions to be removed.
A massive 95% say that traffic congestion in the City has got worse over recent months.
The results underpin the findings from other sources.
Over 35,000 penalty notices have been issued since the Lendal Bridge and Coppergate ANPR cameras were installed.
Stand and deliver
Labour adopt traditional approach to transport funding in York
The influential “Trip Advisor” web site has logged a large number of complaints from visitors who are vowing never to visit the City again.
A Facebook page has also been set up by opponents of the restrictions.
The Council leadership continue to maintain an air of lofty indifference to resident’s views prompting new calls for a referendum on the future of the restrictions.
An opportunity to test resident’s views, at a reasonable cost, will come on 22nd May when European Parliament elections are already scheduled to take place.
By then, however, some traders may have been forced to close as City centre shopper numbers continue to fall.
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There is no consolation for the Council’s Leadership from residents other responses to the survey.
88% say there is no justification for Labours plans to build on the Green Belt, while 80% remain opposed to a wide area 20 mph speed limit.
Most damming verdict comes from the 93% who believe that public service standards have got worse since Labour took office.
No one who has responded so far believes that standards have got better.
“Traffic congestion in York getting worse” – residents. Costs put at £491 per household
Every respondent, to the survey that we are undertaking in parts of the Hob Moor and Dringhouses areas, has so far said that traffic congestion in York has got worse in recent months.
Delays of the type experienced during the “rush hours” have now become commonplace at other times of the day.
The sudden deterioration has been put down to a series of factors.
The decision to close Lendal Bridge to private traffic, while at the same time undertaking extensive road works on the A1237 northern by pass, is blamed by many.
Unreliable traffic signals, burst water mains and a population less willing to use bus services, have added to the problems.
The Council’s ridiculously titled campaign to “Get York Moving” lies in tatters with a report to a Cabinet meeting earlier in the month lacking any information on traffic volumes or congestion delays.
Nationally according to a recent report, close to £426m is being wasted on fuel alone due to traffic hold ups, which means each of the 8.2 million commuting drivers in the country have to bear a fuel cost of £52.
INRIX, an international provider of traffic information and intelligent driver services, together with Cebr, has revealed that congestion on roads costs around £491 per car-commuting household.
The other direct cost is wastage of time, with the average cost of time wasted in gridlock per traveller £331, which results in a total national time cost of £2.7bn.
Lendal Bridge – why no update
Residents searching the Councils web site for the promised monthly update on the Lendal Bridge trial will be disappointed.
Only the September report is available and that is not easy to find.
With footfall down, traders complaining and day time traffic congestion elsewhere in the City at record levels there is a suspicion that data is being “cleansed” before being released into the gaze of Council Taxpayers.
Concern has also been expressed about the speed of some vehicles using the bridge.
As expected, traffic levels are lower now and some drivers are accelerating to the 30 mph speed limit while some visitors are treating the area as an extension to the pedestrian zone.
The Councils evaluation criteria pointedly fails to identify accident levels as one of the statistics for post closure comparison.
The Council would be wise to deploy its 20 mph speed limit signs into this part of the City rather then inflict them on an unwilling population in west York.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats in west York have started a survey aimed at finding out whether York residents want the trial closure to continue.
Very early results suggest that the majority of residents want the restrictions to be removed.
Anotherday, another burst water main…traffic congestion in York getting worse
Burst water main on Hull Road/Lawrence Street
Hull Road was closed to traffic early today following another burst water main.
A contraflow system is now in operation at the junction with Melrosegate.
Traffic congestion is bad in some parts of the City including Fulford Road.
There has been no announcement from the council about whether Lendal Bridge will be open to general traffic today.
Click on map below for up to date information on congestion
click for up to date details
Lendal Bridge and Coppergate reopened to traffic…. but only for today!
Burst water main in York today
As had been forecast, gridlock on the inner ring road forced the Council today to reopen Lendal Bridge and Coppergate to general traffic.
However it wasn’t a major accident on the trunk road network or very bad weather that prompted the Council to remove the restrictions.
A burst water main in the Piccadilly area was to blame.
The Council agreed to waive access restrictions on both Coppergate and Lendal Bridge.
However their decision came at lunch time and was too late to help the hundreds of drivers that had been caught up in the jams during the previous 2 hours.
The traffic restrictions are likely to be re-imposed tomorrow.
York City centre shopper decline started in 2012
York City centre “to let”
The calamitous decline in the number of shoppers in the City centre first became apparent in 2012.
In that year, the new Labour administration increased car parking charges by 20p for residents.
Yearly footfall figures click to enlarge
In 2013 they went up again meaning that residents faced a 36% hike in just 2 years.
We forecast that this could have major implications for City centre traders.
The additional traffic restrictions have simply accelerated the downward spiral with “to let” notice springing up all around the City centre as shops pull out.
In the period up to 2011 the, then LibDem led, Council had frozen parking charges.
It had even reduced them at an innovatory “shoppers car park” at Foss Bank.
Footfall figures reveal that for the first 3 years of the recession (2008 – 2011) the numbers accessing the City centre were remarkably stable.
2012 saw a 6% reduction while this increased to 12% comparing September 2013 with the same month in 2012.
Bus Journeys in York Click to enlarge
New traffic restrictions were blamed for the accelerating trend.
Meanwhile the numbers of bus passengers has also fallen away although the Council has so far refused to reveal the 2012 passenger numbers.
As we said yesterday, the Council seems to be frozen into inactivity with no real idea what to do to get itself out of the self created crisis.
Nero showed a greater sense of urgency.