York: Problem parking near Tadcaster Road 'causing danger'

Business owners and local councillors say motorists are leaving their cars on pavements, a pedestrian crossing and across driveways on part of Tadcaster Road, near Dringhouses Post office and Café at No. 12.

They say the area is used by school children and the cars could force pedestrians to walk into the road.

The area outside the Post Office has bay parking - but only for a maximum of three cars.

Katherine Lowes, owner of Café at No. 12, said the problem had been ongoing for the two-and-a-half years she’s been in business at the site.

Cars parked on the pavement near Dringhouses Post Office (Image: submitted)

She sends pictures of offenders to her councillor.

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Katherine said: “My worry is that people could be injured or that a dog is going to run out of our café.

“With the width of the pavement they still can drive at 20 miles per hour."

She said on one occasion, after challenging a driver, she was followed by the motorist back into the café and two of her customers had to intervene.

Dringhouses Post Office and Cafe at No 12 on Tadcaster Road in York (Image: Google Street View)

Liberal Democrat ward councillor Paula Widdowson said: “An increasing number of residents are expressing concerns about irresponsible and dangerous parking.

“The pavement outside the Post Office and café is a busy space which is well-used by children walking to and from school.

“It should be a place where people are safe and are not having to walk in the road because the pavement is blocked by a vehicle."

Cllr Widdowson said it had been hoped that cash from a ward capital budget might be used to develop physical measures to stop dangerous and irresponsible parking.

However, she claimed that the budget had been scrapped by the new Labour-led council administration.

“Losing the ward capital budget was obviously a blow, but we won’t give up trying to make the area safer for pedestrians," Cllr Widdowson added.

“We have set up an online survey so that local residents and businesses can share their ideas and back our call for the council to provide funding for safety measures to be implemented.”

Cllr Pete Kilbane, the council's executive Member for Transport and Highways, said the Labour council wanted to eradicate ‘problem parking’ but the cause of the issue lay with increased road usage.

He said: “Where problem parking exists councillors should, as well as posing in the newspapers, be working with parking enforcement to tackle it.

“We want to eradicate problem parking so pedestrians and particularly people using wheelchairs and buggies can safely use the pavement. 

“Often a short burst of enforcement that hits selfish drivers in the pocket can provide an effective solution.

“We do want to avoid excessive street clutter, however if problem parking persists, then the council’s highways can assess the area in consultation with the local community to look at introducing physical measures that prevent people driving on the pavement.

“The root cause of this problem is the number of cars on UK roads increasing each year, by around 500,000 last year, which all need to park somewhere.

“This does not excuse the selfish behaviour of those parking on pavements but unless we get to grips with the year-on-year increase in the number of cars on our roads then the problem will continue to get worse.”

The Lib Dem councillors' survey is here