Readers' letters: Come off it, Steve

Firstly, I would like to bring to Mr Galloway's attention that the council has said the ResPark scheme is non-profit making and is self funding and not used to gain income for the council to subsidise other areas.

Also, I would like to point out that many of the people using the evening parking are from outside the York area and evening trade is suffering from the highway robbery imposed by the council.

My third point would be that the recycling system in our area has only been introduced within the past two months.

Andrew Fravigar,

St Johns Crescent, York.

...SO the Lib Dems' latest reaction, in debate on their parking charges debacle, is to suggest "a 50 per cent increase in kerbside recycling" will enable them to reduce this unfair stealth tax.

Are we about to witness more policy made on the hoof, or is this merely evidence they are struggling to defend the indefensible against valid widespread public protest?

You cannot be serious, Mr Galloway! A "£100,000 land-fill tax saving" will barely cover the installation cost of parking meters, recruitment of additional wardens, their vehicle costs, national insurance/pension contributions, parking signs, printing of residents permits and employing staff to issue them.

It is unlikely York council's parking charges scheme has even reached the pay back stage, let alone plugged any gap between income and expenditure.

Glyn Myerscough,

Huntsmans Walk,

York.

...I SOMETIMES wonder if leaders in business and politics think things through properly. At the recent public meeting, Councillor Galloway referred to the need to raise funds because of the inadequate grant for York from the Government.

While I support Councillor Galloway's call for the city to unite to fight for a fairer deal from the Government (Hugh Bayley, please note), I cannot understand Mr Galloway's further comment.

Acknowledging claims that evening parking charges had an impact on the entertainment and voluntary sector, he revealed that the council was to investigate the possibility of extending at least one of the Park & Ride schemes into late at night so it could carry people back to their cars after spending the evening out in York.

Surely if this were to happen, motorists would no longer have to park in the centre of York, so the council would no longer receive the evening parking charges? If the council can afford to do this, why not simply abolish the charges and remove the new yellow lines?

Tony Taylor,

Grassholme,

Woodthorpe, York.

...FIRST thank you for your campaign giving prominence to the problems caused by high car parking charges.

I attended the meeting organised by the TUC at the Railway Institute and came away disheartened.

I had hoped we could have coerced the council leader into agreeing to a proper debate in the council chamber on the needs of our residents and businesses so that opposition council members could propose alternatives to plug the hole in our city's finances.

Except for military service at the end of the Second World War, I have spent my life here and I have seen our city centre deteriorate. I shopped in York when you had the choice of many furniture shops, who competed in price and quality to our advantage.

When Rowntree's kept a grocery shop on Coney Street that had many of the world's tastes; when you could choose what you wanted from one of the many electrical shops without being pestered to take out an expensive maintenance agreement; when the whole of Parliament Street was taken up every weekend by the open market and if you went late in the day you were sure to pick up a few bargains; and when our city centre was alive with York people not just the tourists.

Some years back our planning officers saw that our city centre would become the home of banks and building societies, which add nothing to the shopping centre's viability.

Les Marsh,

Former city councillor,

Grosvenor Court,

Water Lane, York.

...SO Steve Galloway and Anne Reid think they must get some return from the council car parks after 6pm in the evening and before 8.30am the next morning.

Why not make a reasonable £1 charge for the whole period?

It would save the earlier parking people something in the order of £3, but then include late-nighters, who at present, at most, may pay only 10p, or more generally, nothing.

From my observations of the Nunnery Lane car park from 6pm to 9pm, hardly anyone parks there and after 9pm a reasonable number of cars begin to gather.

It would seem fairer to share a lower charge among all the users rather than, as now, penalising the earlier users.

Neal Guppy,

Nunnery Lane, York.

...CONSIDER, if you will, a man whose waistline is expanding to such a degree he no longer feels comfortable in his clothes. He has two options: buy larger clothing or go on a diet.

A similar situation exists in the amount of traffic trying to use York. Where the analogy breaks down is that the city centre cannot be made larger. How, then, to make it work - carrot or stick?

The council has tried hard to apply the carrot method. The best option, for those who live further than walking distance, is cycling. It is healthier and good for the environment.

Our city council has made a great improvement in provision of cycle paths and cycle lanes.

If not practicable to cycle, I suggest the signatories of your parking petition take the trouble to walk to their nearest bus stop. If it is some time since they used buses in York, they will notice several improvements, in particular extension of Park & Ride services.

York buses are about the most modern in the country, and the drivers are helpful and courteous. If your evening is late, there are taxis throughout the night.

Too many motorists are unwilling to try the carrots. The problem won't go away. So the solution has to be the stick of making car parks so expensive, drivers will prefer not to use them in the city centre.

John Robson,

Dringthorpe Road,

Dringhouses, York.

Updated: 11:18 Wednesday, July 28, 2004