Press Watch: York residents to vote on congestion charging and workplace parking levies

Labour councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, who sparked the probe, said today she expected the biggest response York has had to a public consultation.

She warned residents might find some suggestions by the committee hard to accept, because there were "many sticks but few carrots".

But she said it was important residents were able to have their say on how to make a better quality of life for everyone in York.

The report by scrutiny officer Melanie Carr states road charging could influence economic growth, would require extensive monitoring and enforcement apparatus and procedures, and could have a long lead-in period, while a workplace parking levy to deter car commuting would be relatively quick to implement.

But even if seen as a deterrent, both measures could be perceived by motorists to be an “acceptable penalty”.

Her report warns a “do minimum” scenario would mean unacceptable increases in travel time which would inhibit economic growth, and it recommends a detailed study should be commissioned to examine a future transport strategy to 2025 and beyond.

Councillor Simpson-Laing said the scrutiny had looked at all aspects of addressing forecasted growth of traffic, and the prediction on current trends was “gridlock.”

She said there were some “very worrying” statistics about the physical health of York residents because of air pollution, if car usage continued to grow.

She said: “A consultation will be going out to residents in December so that there is a clear understanding of all the issues and possible solutions.

“I want to see this consultation have the largest ever return of a council survey and, considering the subject, it should.”

The council’s Liberal Democrat leader, Andrew Waller, said he wanted to make it clear the administration did not favour congestion charging just because the independent scrutiny committee was suggesting it.

He said his party preferred other measures such as Park&Ride to tackle traffic levels and, at some stage, the debate would become “political”.

Strategy ‘with some teeth’ needed
THE new report confirms York’s air quality is deteriorating and the current air quality strategy has failed, said the scrutiny committee chairman, Coun Dave Merrett.

He said nitrogen dioxide levels had been increasing year on year since 2005, rather than decreasing towards a 2011 target which now looked “unachievable”.

“The current strategy was premised on locally persuading people to change their behaviour, coupled with relying on advances in motor vehicle engine design to solve the air quality problem, neither of which have delivered as suggested, as some of us predicted at the time that this current, very weak strategy, was first put forward.

“What is now needed is a strategy with some teeth. We cannot ignore the fact that thousands of premature deaths occur each year in this country as a result of poor air quality, a number of which will be in our own city.”

* The committee will meet next week to discuss the report.