Contractors brought in to enforce parking restrictions on York Council estates

Over £14,000 raised in fines

A contract has been let by the Council which will see private contractors enforce parking restrictions on Council estates in York.

In the main, the contractors will patrol garage forecourts and communal areas.

A 3 year trial of a system – which involves issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for £30 to drivers who park in restricted areas – resulted in 900 tickets being issued.

Most were in City centre areas such as Castle Mills although suburban locations like the garage blocks on Tudor Road (21 tickets issued) also formed part of the trial.

Fines levied by site. click to enlarge

Fines levied by site. click to enlarge

Around £14,000, in fine income, was raised by the contractor.

The new contract will extend the enforcement to all similar areas in the City.

The scheme does not cover public highway or verge parking. Damage to verges is one of the biggest problems in some estates with heavy rainfall resulting in verges which have been badly damaged over recent months.
Behind closed doors logo
While we accept that some enforcement is necessary – if only to allow easy access by emergency vehicles – we believe that the Council should reintroduce its programme of providing dropped kerbs/vehicle crossovers, lay-bys and other, off street, parking spaces.

Where necessary, verges should be reinforced with matrix surfaces.

The Councils decision was taken last week in another “behind closed doors” decision.

The background paper can be read here.

Shopper numbers down 10% in City Centre.

285,000 fewer people have visited the Parliament Street area since new traffic restrictions introduced in August.

Shambles empty
The number of visitors to the City has dropped dramatically since the new restrictions were introduced on Coppergate and on Lendal Bridge.

The latest figures have been released by the York Council following a Freedom of Information request

In total, footfall cameras on Parliament Street recorded 2.695 million people between 1st August and the start of the St Nicholas Fayre on 28th November.

The equivalent figure for 2012 was 2.980 million, a fall of 10%.

Figures recovered over the 4 days of the St Nicholas Fayre although the concentration of footfall may have been influenced by the positioning of the market.

The figures are even more disappointing given the relatively good weather that we have experienced so far this autumn.

They confirm that the new restrictions are having a major adverse effect on the economic viability of many retailers in the City centre.

The Council has previously resisted calls for the restrictions to be suspended at least until the busy pre Christmas period is over.

  • The detailed figures are:
  • August 746,340 visitors (780,646 in 2012 – 4%)
  • September 699,042 (798,182 – 12%)
  • October 717,634 (775,144 – 7%)
  • November 532,157 (646,226 -18%) to start of St Nicholas Fayre on 28th November

By contrast, in the first 7 months of the year, visitor numbers had fallen by a total of 5% with the decrease being blamed on a large increase in car parking charges.

A spreadsheet showing individual figures for each day can be found by clicking here.

A Council survey on residents and visitors reactions to the traffic restrictions can be found here

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lendalsurvey

 

Lendal Bridge/Coppergate update published. Number fined tops 35,000!

Stand and deliver Labour revive traditional transport funding in York

Stand and deliver
Labour revive traditional transport funding in York

25,911 motorists attracted penalty charge notices for using Lendal Bridge since ANPR cameras were switched on to enforce restrictions at the beginning of September.

On Coppergate, a total of 9122 drivers have now been penalised.

Together that means that 35,033 drivers have been told to cough up £60 each.

That is the equivalent of over £2 million in fines income.

Of course, the amount actually received by the Council will be less than half that figure as many will pay early to get a £30 discount, while others will successfully challenge the fine.

It is still a damming indictment of the adequacy of the signage used to advertise the restrictions.

Fines levied by week. Click to enlarge

Fines levied by week. Click to enlarge

The figures are admitted in the Councils latest update report on the effects of the new traffic restrictions.

The report is otherwise remarkable for what it hides rather than what it reveals.

There are no footfall (shopper) statistics included, accident and air quality figures are missing, only the effects of the closure on park and ride bus services are reported (journey times up in October) while the normal stage carriage services (which have been hit by increased traffic congestion in other parts of the City) are omitted.

No information on journey times for drivers is provided.

The Council only admits that traffic volumes on Foss Islands Road and Clifton Bridge are up on the same period last year.

The report, such as it is, can be read by clicking here.