After a large rise in car parking charges prompted a backlash, City of York Council’s transport lead Kate Ravilious says that the change will make travel fairer and is part of a wider plan to cut the jams
No matter which way you choose to travel in York, traffic congestion is a source of misery.
York’s roads were never built for the volume of vehicles that come into the city on a daily basis. And those jams are costing the city dear.
Nurses, carers and social workers are delayed reaching vital appointments, while businesses such as builders and couriers pay the cost of deliveries being stuck in traffic.
Lives are put at risk when emergency services can’t get through, buses are unreliable and parents stop walking and cycling their kids to school because it doesn’t feel safe.
Doing nothing is not an option. Our city is growing fast and we need to enable everyone to make the journeys they need to make, while continuing to welcome the nine million visitors that add so much to our economy.
If we don’t reduce congestion and improve public transport in the coming decade then we face even worse gridlock.
Car parking prices are just one tool we have to help reduce traffic congestion and enable everyone to have choice in the way they travel. The new parking charges aim to discourage the frequent short trips by car that clog up the city with congestion and instead encourage people to take the bus.
For most people travelling by bus is now cheaper than parking for two hours. For people parking for longer the charges are tapered: parking all day is not much more than it was last year.
- ‘This is going to kill our street off’: Traders react to 500%+ car park hike
- Anger over ‘massive jump’ in parking charges on key York street
- ‘Shocking!’ It will soon be cheaper to pay a parking fine than to buy a ticket in York
- Businesses say ‘huge rises’ in car park charges will damage York
- Car-free days, more 20mph limits and the return of e-scooters all planned for York
These prices also aim to give greater equity around travel within our city, recognising that one in four households in the city don’t have access to a car and often depend on the bus.
We’ve also introduced an additional 10% charge on Fridays, Saturdays and during events like the Christmas market because these are the days and times when our roads are most congested.
Previously there was a variety of parking prices in and close to the city centre ranging from 80p per hour at Bishopthorpe Road car park through to £3.40 per hour at Castle car park.
The very cheap car parking contributed to more short car trips, greater congestion and worsening bus services and we needed to tackle that by introducing a consistent price for parking across the city centre.
But we didn’t want to penalise residents, and very much recognise the important role that they play in supporting local traders and city businesses all year round, which is why we introduced a significant discount for Minster Badge holders, including a flat £2 Minster Badge rate for evening parking, when current bus services are less frequent.
Last year we held one of the biggest and most thorough budget consultations for years, including focused workshops with residents, civic organisations and businesses. The increased parking changes were supported by 55% of the 1,600 people who responded to the consultation.
We recognise that the consultation didn’t reach everyone, and that the increase in parking charges have come as a surprise to some local traders in particular. We have been listening to the concerns raised by traders from Bishy Road, Micklegate and elsewhere and reflecting on the perspectives they’ve shared with us.
We’ll continue to work with them and make adjustments if they are needed and we’ve committed to analysing our data and reviewing the changes to parking prices at three, six, nine and 12 months in.
We know that traffic congestion will only be solved by a range of measures and we are committed to investing in the improvements needed to provide everyone with realistic options in how they travel.
We are using some of our Mayoral bus subsidy to fund evening Park & Ride buses from this summer.
And we are about to start a public consultation on improvements to our Park & Ride sites, including the option of overnight car parking to support commuters using the train station and visitors staying multiple nights in the city.
In June we’ll be seeking views on a city centre bus priority corridor which will transform bus travel not just within York but to the surrounding villages and beyond.
And we have a raft of other schemes and highway improvements in the pipeline. The increased parking charges are just one part of our wider transport strategy which ultimately aims to provide everyone with more options in how they travel around the city and to free up the roads for those who need to use them most.
- Cllr Kate Ravilious is the executive member for transport for the Labour-run City of York Council