YORK'S transport bosses have admitted they do not have enough staff to catch drivers who damage grass verges by parking on them.

City of York Council used to have six highways inspectors but now has only two, meaning finding proof and catching offenders in the act is difficult, a new report says.

Instead, the council is looking to send letters to people in houses near problem areas, asking them to stop and telling them how much the repairs cost.

The council has been looking at ways it can improve and protect roadside verges from being damaged by vehicles.

Following a previous meeting on the issue, reported in The Press, the council received a large number of emails and letters from York residents, identifying areas where verge-parking was a problem.

A report by council scrutiny officer Steve Entwistle will go before the economic development and transport policy and scrutiny committee next Wednesday.

York Press:

One of the problem areas raised with City of York Council

The report recommends that the authority drafts a letter to inform drivers and residents that it costs £35 a square metre to repair damaged verges.

It also proposes that the council promotes the need for dropped kerbs, where front gardens have been made into off-street parking.

As part of this, residents could be given the chance to construct dropped kerbs, at their own cost, but in exchange they may be offered reduced rates.

The report says that while the council has a damaged grass verge policy approved in 2000, enforcement action is rarely taken.

York Press:

It explains: “The biggest problem was one of proof and resources needed to gather evidence. Drivers have to be physically observed driving onto and damaging a verge.

“The city has two highways inspectors when it used to have six and they are responsible for the whole of the carriageway including verges and pathways.

“Inspectors go out to complaints about damage to grass verges and report any problems they find.”

The report says it is not illegal to park on a grass verge unless there are parking restrictions on the associated road, but as most verges are owned by the council it falls to them to repair any damage and cover the cost.

As traffic levels and car ownership have increased in York, so has damage to verges, leading to a greater repair workload.

The report says: “This continuous rise in levels of car ownership has led to a situation where parking in a number of neighbourhoods in the city is very difficult. Housing estates that were planned many years ago were not designed to cope with the current number of parked cars.

"The effect of this is that, in areas where there is little parking provision, both occupants and visitors park on grass verges.”

The report says verge parking can cause obstruction as well as damage. The issue is enforced by bodies including the council and the police, but the report says: “Damage to verges can be recharged to the owner of a particular vehicle but only if it can be proved that the vehicle caused the particular area of damage."