12% drop in shopper numbers in September

There were 12% fewer shoppers in central York in September according to new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

click to download full data

click to download full data

The results come from the one remaining “footfall” camera which is located in Parliament Street.

It confirms the downward trend from August when 4% fewer people accessed the City centre in the wake of the introduction of new traffic restrictions on Lendal Bridge and Coppergate.

So far in October numbers ate down by 7% compared to the same period last year.

It has also emerged that the footfall camera located in Coney Street was a victim of the cuts earlier in the year.

The figures will cause serious concern to the retail community in the City.

Although seemingly more resilient than some other shopping areas –as evidenced by the relatively low number of empty premises – few businesses could sustain a reduction in the number of customers that has been seen over the last couple of months.

As revealed on this web site earlier in the week, over 8000 penalty notices were sent to separate addresses during September. Of these 5481 (67%) were to sent to addresses outside the YO postcode area, raising fears that the reputation of the City is being irreparably damaged.

Click here to download the full data.

4% drop in shopper numbers in City centre during August

Figures released today, under Freedom of Information rules, reveal that 4% fewer shoppers visited the York City centre in August compared to the same month last year.

"Footfall" numbers in Parliament Street. click to enlarge

“Footfall” numbers in Parliament Street. click to enlarge

The blame for the reduction is being attributed to the bungled introduction of new traffic regulations on Lendal Bridge and in Coppergate.

The news comes at a time when visitor attractions were reporting an increase in the numbers using their facilities earlier in the year

In the period up to August a 16% increase was recorded.

This was partly put down to special events like the Mallard 75 celebration as well as the opening of the new York Minster revealed axhibition.

The expectations had been that a recovering national economy – coupled with good weather – would lead to a bumper August; but those hopes seem to have been dashed.

Cameras, that measure the numbers of people on Parliament Street, recorded a drop in “footfall” from a monthly total of 780,646 in 2012 to 746,349 this year

Figures for September and early October are due to are published next week.

Many are forecasting a further decline.

Over 5000 visitors will have received penalty charge notices in September and word of mouth is likely to have resulted in further reputational damage for the City.

More may choose to shun the central area.

There are, however, some hopes that special events like the Food Festival might partly counter the decline.

Earlier in the week the Council was reported as having ordered additional footfall cameras.

Traffic signals faulty for 804 hours during last 6 months in York

The York Council has admitted that traffic signal faults have more than doubled in the period between April and October 2013.

Press 17th Oct traffic lights

299 faults were reported with a total “downtime” of 804 hours.

This compares to a total of 790 hours (573 faults) during the whole of the last financial year.

The Council blames serious cabling faults caused by damaged and flooded ducts.

The information was obtained by Cllr Ann Reid who took up the issue at last weeks York Council meeting

However, recent problems seem to have extended the capacity of the repair and maintenance contractors and motorists will be looking for a long term improvement.

Yesterday there was near grid lock conditions in the Foss Islands Road area following the failure of two sets of lights.

Council confirms income from Lendal Bridge and Coppergate fines

Lendal bridge after its clsure

The Council has belatedly published the answers to questions tabled last week about the fine income that they are generating through the use of ANPR ”invisible policemen” cameras in the City.

The Council is paying its Northampton based contractors £7 to process each Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

The Council says

Lendal
02-08 Sept – 1675 PCNs issued (4 days enforcement, commenced Wed)
09-15 Sept – 2015 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event)
16-22 Sept – 1766 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement, cameras updating)
TOTAL 5456

Accurate actual income into CYC is not available at this stage due to the short time the system has been operational. Based on £23 / PCN (the £30 ‘early payment’ value of the PCN minus the processing and operating costs), this would equate to a potential income of £125,500.

Coppergate
15-18 August -1085 PCNs issued (4 days enforcement, commenced Wednesday)
19-25 August – 1741 PCNs issued
26-01 Sept – 880 PCNs issued
02-08 Sept – 850 PCNs issued
09-15 Sept – 841 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event)
16-22 Sept -324 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement, cameras updating and gas works commenced)
TOTAL 5721

Accurate actual income into CYC is not available at this stage due to the short time the system has been operational. Based on £23 / PCN (the £30 ‘early payment’ value of the PCN minus the processing and operating costs). This would equate to a potential income of £131,500.

Lendal Bridge and Coppergate penalty income revealed by York Council. 11,177 fined!

The Council have belatedly published details of the numbers of drivers who have fallen foul of the number plate recognition cameras installed on Lendal Bridge and in Coppergate.

In total during August and September 11,177 drivers were sent penalty charge notices.

This would generate over £600,000 in income for the Council in just 5 weeks.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge


Some fines might be reduced for drivers who pay up quickly or who successfully appeal against the notice.

The penalty charge notice numbers are divided fairly evenly between Coppergate and Lendal Bridge although the figures for the latter are only for 3 weeks.

But it is a staggering amount and confirmation of the inadequacy of the signage marking the new restrictions on Coppergate as well as the trial day time closure of Lendal Bridge to private motorists.

The data is contained in an obscure part of the Council web site and has not been officially publicised.

Apparently the web page will be updated monthly.

The figures show no sign of a downturn in the numbers of motorists being caught, so the Councils annual income from the cameras is likely to be several millions each year.

It is much more than would have been raised by putting a congestion charge on the bridge and they do suggest that “road pricing” is what the Labour Council really wants to introduce next.

The publication of the information follows the tabling of a question on the subject at last weeks Council meeting by a Liberal Democrat Councillor.

Detailed information, on the reductions in the number of shoppers accessing the City centre, is still awaited.

A report on the first month of the trial, previously published by the Council, admitted that there had been no significant improvement in journey times for buses – one of the major objectives of the trial

Bizarre twist in footfall pantomime

increase-footfall-retail

With the Council resolutely refusing to reveal the reduction in the number of shoppers using the City centre since the Lendal Bridge restrictions were introduced, they have today announced investment in yet more “footfall” cameras.

Many will wonder whether spending money on more cameras can be justified when the authority apparently don’t want to believe the results of its existing two cameras (which are located in Parliament Street and Coney Street).

A beleaguered Council Leadership has agreed though that the decline in the numbers accessing the City centre over recent years is higher than in similar City’s elsewhere.

The Labour Leadership was quick to celebrate increased footfall in the run up to Christmas 2011 but since then a huge increase in car parking charges, and steps to further reduce on street parking, have taken their toll.

Now, the way that the Lendal Bridge restrictions have been introduced is already having a major impact on the City’s reputation with visitors and potential shoppers.

The Council seem to be following a strategy based on a new saying, “If you don’t like the facts, spend more money looking for alternative facts”

The Council has not revealed how much it intends to spend on the additional cameras.

Police change policy on 20 mph enforcement?

20 mph

Chances of a major confrontation on York’s streets, over the Labour Councils proposed “wide area” 20 mph speed limits, increased today following the publication of new enforcement guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers.

It appears that drivers found driving between 24 mph and 31 mph in the zones may be “invited” to go on a new style “speed awareness course”. Usually the other option is a £100 fine and 3 penalty points!

Similar courses have been an option for those exceeding – by a small amount – existing speed limits. They are generally well received, but reaction, from normally law abiding motorists to the new restrictions, is less predictable.

The Labour plan involves extending lower 20 mph limits to roads on which there has never been a recorded accident.

The ACPO guidance is not open ended and talks of the need for limits to be clearly signed with natural enforcement using “engineering, visible interventions and landscaping standards” to increase driver awareness of accident risks.

Nevertheless, it is a change from the previous Police policy which (rightly) supported 20 mph limits only where they were self enforcing (for example using traffic calming systems)

The guidance does not recommend if proactive measuring of speeds should routinely take place in any new 20 mph limit areas.

So the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioners’ assurance, given at a public meeting on 10th April, that there would be no camera enforcement of 20 mph limits presumably still holds good.

Our view remains that the Police and Council should concentrate their resources on those roads which have a poor accident record.

The ACPO guidance reads:
(more…)

Visitors Coppergate “double fine whammy”

A visitor from Denmark faced a £66 charge after falling foul of the Coppergate ANPR cameras.

He quickly paid the fine to gain the £30 discount but later received a supplementary bill from the hire car firm that he had used. They wanted another £30 plus £6 VAT to cover the costs of processing an enquiry about who was driving their vehicle.

The tourist explains that on a dark and wet evening in September he and his family decided to use their hire car to get from their guest house to a City centre restaurant.

Fine notice

Fine notice

They were caught on camera at 18:50pm – just 10 minutes before the restriction ends.

They did not see the signs (the new hours of operation of the restriction are in a small font) and – with some justification – feel that the invisible policeman (ANPR cameras) method of enforcement is unfair.

He suggests a rising barrier be used.

Others have argued for an amnesty for “first offenders”

Visitors see the use of ANPR cameras as a money making trap which will damage the City’s reputation.

In a separate development, The Council Leader last night accepted that the numbers of people accessing the City centre is in decline.

He was asked to publish footfall figures for the last couple of months and compare them with 12 months ago.

He hasn’t done so yet but he claimed to have put on line graphs which show City centre visitors numbers falling over an extended period of time.

Heavy handed enforcement of traffic restrictions – like the above – can only accelerate that decline.

NB. Questions on the amount that the Council has collected in fine revenue from ANPR cameras in Coppergate and Lendal Bridge were not answered at last night’s Council meeting.

The responsible Labour Councillor is being given a week to respond in writing before a Freedom of Information request is submitted.

Museum Street bus stop to get 12th century shelter

Under new proposals, passengers waiting for the Rawcliffe Park&Ride at the Musem Street bus stop will be able to wait under a new canopy shelter, funded out of the £3.5 million government Better Bus Area funding.

The canopy is adjacent to St Leonards Hospital which was founded in 1137. The canopy design will respect the setting of the adjacent building

Proposed shelter design

Proposed shelter design

The Council says that it undertook full consultation with key stakeholder groups including English Heritage, York Museums Trust, York Civic Trust and businesses who front Museum Gardens. The scheme is estimated to cost in the region of £75 to £80k.

The upgrade will improve the flow of pedestrians along the northwest side of Museum Street, reduce the conflict with bus passengers and improve passenger waiting facilities at the bus stop.

Cllr Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member of Transport, Planning and Sustainably, said: “The new shelter will be done in the best possible taste”

In addition to the new shelter, the proposed alterations will include localised removal of the existing stone walls which will be reused where possible to retain the fabric of the original walling, and a new curved section of walling will be provided to ensure security to Museum Gardens is maintained.

The mature cherry tree will need to be removed as the roots are damaging the adjacent drainage system and are penetrating into the monument’s wall joints. Removal of the tree will open up the view of the adjacent Willow tree, which is considered to be the dominant and more attractive tree, as well improving the view to The Minster.

It is also proposed to provide new railings on the new curved walling to match the adjacent Brierley railings that link between the bus stop and the Library, as this is the natural continuation.

Alternatively, the original railing (which extends from the Museum Gardens entrance to the bus stop) is an option being considered.

To view the proposals or to attend the decision session visit: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MId=8022

Passengers complain about “left luggage” mystery tour at York station while East Coast records £6 million profit

Passengers are complaining that the left luggage “office” at York station means a long walk for passengers.

The route from the station involves walking over the Queens Street Bridge to a site near the Railway Institute.

Left luggage office at York Station

Left luggage office at York Station

It will be a gloomy and slippery route during winter weather.

It has been branded as too demanding for elderly passengers with heavy luggage.

The York ”left luggage” facility is advertised on railway web sites but is poorly signed in the station and on the access route.

“Left luggage” used to be available near platform 1 but this facility has now disappeared.

Left luggage lockers also were taken away in the wake of security concerns.

A more direct route to the new cabin would be possible across the long stay car park but the perimeter is secured.

East Coast Managing Director Karen Boswell has been asked to intervene to ensure that the service – which is important for a City with a large tourism industry – is improved

Meanwhile Skeldergate based East Coast trains have reported increased turnover for last year.

Annual results released by DOR on Tuesday show it paid the government £208m in premium and dividend payments in the year to March 31.

The operator generated a turnover of £694m during the period, up from £666m the year before, although an increase in operating expenditure reduced profits. Pre-tax profit dipped to £5.9m from £7m previously.

A process to re-privatise the line will begin later this month. A winning bidder is expected to be announced in October 2014 before the franchise changes ownership in February 2015.

The contact is expected to be fiercely contested by a number of domestic and foreign rail companies. Eurostar announced last week it planned to bid for the contract as part of a joint venture with fellow French rail group Keolis.