Proposals to introduce parking restrictions on streets near York’s Barbican Centre have divided locals, with one claiming the area is being swamped by cars.
Green Party activist Michael Kearney, who lives in the area proposed for residential parking (ResPark) restrictions, said it had become a dumping ground for people unwilling to pay to park.
But resident Jacqueline Christensen said she did not see why she should have to pay to park outside her home as costs for local services mount through council tax increases.
It comes as City of York Council’s transport lead Cllr Kate Ravilious extended a consultation on the proposals after hearing from residents.
The Labour executive member said a drop off in responses from October’s informal consultation to the official one done in November and December made assessing residents’ views difficult.
A council report stated 116 responses were lodged during the informal consultation compared to 24 during the formal one.
The proposals consulted on would see ResPark restrictions introduced on Wellington Street and Heslington Road, from Barbican Road to roughly where the streets join up.
Homes in streets between along with Apollo Street, Apollo Court, Alne Terrace, Bellevue Street and Bellevue Terrace would also be required to buy parking permits.
The standard rate for a ResPark permit is £115-a-year for the first car, rising to £264 for two and £550 for three at the same address.
Proposals come after the Greens lodged a petition with the council in 2019 calling for the restrictions signed by 45 households.
October’s informal survey garnered 72 responses in favour and 44 against, compared to 11 and 13 respectively during the statutory consultation.
Council rules state that the majority of households in an area need to support ResPark restrictions for them to go ahead and at least half of them have to respond.
But residents in favour of the permits told Tuesday’s transport decision session the area’s high population of students made reaching the required threshold difficult.
Some also claimed that those opposed to permits did not respond to prevent the respond rate being reached.
‘It impacts our daily lives’
Mr Kearney told the meeting current arrangements meant the area was offering unlimited free parking to commuters, shoppers and theatregoers.
He added residents feared that things would get worse if 240 apartments planned next to York Barbican get the go ahead.
He said: “This has resulted in our streets being swamped by cars.
“It’s not just inconvenient, it impacts our daily lives and we’re suffering while the council is deprived of desperately-needed parking revenue.”
Ms Christensen, who also campaigned against previous proposals for restrictions two decades ago, said she had never had issues with parking there.
The resident said: “I can always get a parking space, even if I have to drive around a couple of times to find one.
“We’ll have the cost of this for one, two or three cars while we’re also facing increases in council tax bills with no visible improvements in services.”
Council tax in York rose by 4.99 per cent at the start of April.
Transport executive member Cllr Ravilious said it was clear that the consultation process had been confusing.
The executive member said: “We’ve had a number of residents get in touch saying they didn’t realise they also needed to respond to the second consultation.
“Given the difference between the first and second consultation I feel there’s been a misunderstanding, it’s important that we enable people to have their say given the strength of feeling in the area.”
Speaking after the decision, Green Party activist Andy D’Agorne said there was a clear majority in favour of restrictions and further consultation was a waste of council resources.
The Fishergate-based activist said: “This scheme was first consulted on over a year ago and it is desperately needed to prevent a daily influx of commuters and shoppers avoiding the high parking charges.”