York’s residential parking system will not be imposed across the city, the council’s transport spokesperson has said after councillors backed reforming it.
City of York Council’s Labour Transport Executive Member Cllr Kate Ravilious said the review of ResPark backed by councillors would go hand-in-hand with efforts to make parking policies more consistent.
Labour’s Cllr Conrad Whitcroft said current requirements for more than half of households in a street to back having ResPark left them stuck in an endless loop of making applications.
But Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Cllr Stephen Fenton said Cllr Whitcroft’s call which also backed a plan to expand ResPark made no mention of consulting residents.
The motion backed by councillors on Thursday, September 20 calls for ResPark to be simplified by creating a standardised criteria for eligibility and streamlining the consultation and implementation process.
Residents who request ResPark are balloted under the current system and the majority of at least half of households in their street have to agree to it.
The motion called for consultation requirements to take issues specific to local areas into account such as having larger amounts of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) or short-term holiday lets.
It also called for a review to fair prices and equitable access to ResPark and for Transport Executive Member Cllr Ravilious to draw up a plan to expand it.
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The current cost of a standard ResPark permit is £109.95-a-year.
Cllr Whitcroft said the reforms aimed to fix a broken ResPark system which forced residents in areas that could not meet consultation requirements off their streets to park.
The Labour ward member said: “Farrar Street in Fishergate is one of the worst-hit by this problem, the street has even appeared in online forums for people wanting to park for free.
“I was proud to present their petition for ResPark but I was shocked to learn that it was their second attempt in five years, its previous vote fell foul of unique and infuriating consultation rules.
“The absence of students meant that turnout was suppressed, residents shouldn’t have to go through such an arduous process just to have the right to park outside their homes.”
But Cllr Fenton said the motion went much further than merely simplifying the ResPark system and it failed to tackle the root cause of parking problems.
The Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward councillor said: “ResPark needs to be a product of consultation with residents and the motion doesn’t mention the root cause of parking problems in some areas which is people choosing to drive rather than get the bus or cycle.
“I’m sure there are ways that ResPark can be made more efficient but this is about much more than that, it’s about a plan to expand ResPark and there’s no mention of consulting communities.
“Such an approach would come from the centre and that’s not something I can support, an expansion of ResPark would not be appropriate in every area.”
Cllr Ravilious said the current ResPark system and the lack of a broad parking strategy for York had left streets clogged up with cars.
The transport executive member said: “This isn’t about imposing ResPark across the city, it’s about making it work quickly and more efficiently.
“Doing this across the city will mean that people have fairer access to parking, it doesn’t mean that people have an absolute right to park, part of the review is going to look at getting parking right.”
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