This is harming York

As I read the charges, after 9pm it is 10p. As it was 9.15pm I asked my girlfriend does it mean 10p per hour or is it for the rest of the night? Better be sure and with lack of change I put a 50p piece in the machine, which was returned because of incorrect change.

This sign did say no change given, so it cannot be 10p per hour or per night.

After several attempts I put £1.50 in the machine (it is £1.30 an hour) once the minimum had been put in, only then a ticket had been issued.

So where does the 10p come into it?

Can the council get anything right? Next time I'll save the money and hassle by going out of town.

S Harris,

Wains Road,

Dringhouses, York.

...AS I understand it, yellow lines on roads are placed there for safety measures, not to fill up council coffers.

My daughter and her fianc live in Nunmill Street. They paid a residents' only parking charge of £42 per car per year to enable them to park their car in their street - if they are lucky. This was for the policing of it.

Now they find they are having to pay double - £84 per car, money that they can ill afford. The increase has nothing to do with increased costs in policing the street, or an improvement in services - no, it is just an unfair additional tax placed indiscriminately on certain households.

The other evening I went to York Theatre Royal and parked in the Bootham Row car park. At 7pm at night there was much disbelief and anger that parking charges were still in operation.

I heard a lot of people saying that next time they wouldn't bother coming into York. It is the small businesses that will bear the brunt of the council's decision.

One thing is for sure, the Lib Dem council has certainly lost its way over this issue and the sooner it is fairly sorted out, the better.

Christine Bennett,

Rushwood Close,

Haxby, York.

...ON the whole I get a good service in the residents' parking zone where I live and although, like most, I would have preferred a smaller increase, I do not resent the increase in the house permit.

My gripe comes from the increase in visitor permit fees. How can anyone justify in excess of a threefold increase for me to have friends round?

The price hike from 30p to £1 means, based on the rate of inflation, that there should not be another price rise until my 72nd birthday!

I'm still 25 years from retirement.

Jenny Forber-Goffey,

St John Street,

York.

...AS a resident of York I am writing to offer my support for the parking petition.

The council seems to be hell-bent on penalising the citizens of York, who are most affected by the scandalous parking charges imposed in the evening.

Tourists, surely York's main source of revenue, do not complain about the parking charges as they are visiting for such a short period and many come by tourist bus operators or train.

However, would the council think again should the tourists start staying away due to high costs of parking?

Although I do not think charging should be incurred in the evening, I would not have complained so much if the cost of parking had been nominal; but the council is charging the same rate as it does for peak hours in the day; why?

Let's hope "people power" will prevail!

Louise Keogh,

Adelaide Street,

York.

...THE charges for parking in York are outrageous and can only lead to the further decline of the city. Leeds does not charge for evening parking nor Sunday parking. Also, most York car parks are badly maintained and insecure.

P Silk,

Moorbridge Croft,

Sherburn in Elmet.

...A DISGRACE to every citizen of York; to every businessman of York; to every motorist; to every council tax payer. A disgrace to every visitor to York.

A disgrace to the name of politics. Ann Reid - resign.

David Lee Fairey,

Peterborough Road,

Lodge Moor, Sheffield.

...AT a time when the police and Government are cracking down on binge drinking, unruly behaviour and so forth in our city centres, why make the centre so costly for all the ordinary people with their clubs and societies?

The net result is to make the city centre more of a threatening place, rather than a thriving, relaxed city welcoming to residents and tourists alike.

Ged Cooper,

The Green,

York.

...I WROTE to several councillors when the charges were first introduced, outlining my fears that they would adversely affect trade, the arts and all those who support them and enjoy the advantages of living in a city.

I feel that all our fears have come true.

I hope that a well-supported campaign will persuade the council to seek revenue from other sources and that parking will revert once again to being free in the evening, as it should be.

I am sure families and individuals like myself who would previously pop into the city centre for a quiet walk around during the evening no longer do so because of the parking charges.

I cannot believe that the people we vote into office are so short-sighted and make such poor decisions on our behalf.

Grant Wilde,

Trenchard Road,

York.

...I COME to York every weekend and find it harder to park all the time. I am disabled. Even these parking places are vanishing and being replaced with taxi ranks.

Jeff Priddin,

Priory Close,

Pen-y-Ffordd, near Chester.

...THIS is nothing more than a revenue-raising exercise which is completely unnecessary. Everywhere else charges up to 6pm; why must York be different?

Mark Whitfield,

Morton House,

Back Lane South,

Wheldrake, York.

...I AM particularly concerned about the evening parking charges.

While it could be argued that during the day there is reasonable public transport available, particularly the Park & Ride service, most of this ceases or is dramatically reduced after 6pm, particularly from more outlying areas.

This leaves people with little alternative other than to use cars to come into York. Now, however, the additional price of parking - on top of, say, tickets for concerts, cinema and/or the cost of a meal - may well lead them to go elsewhere.

By discouraging those who visit in an evening for the theatre, cinema or other venue, there is a danger that the majority inhabiting the streets in the evening will soon only be those who come in to drink to excess.

Georgina Jackman,

Derwent Road,

Fulford,

York.

Updated: 09:35 Monday, July 19, 2004