Never mind the bollards

RESIDENTS' anger over developments which bring more traffic into their neighbourhood may not be enough to prevent the new buildings going up, according to York's highways chief.

"It is very difficult to turn a development down on the basis of the traffic it will generate," says Peter Evely, who adds that planning law is an area widely misunderstood by the majority of the public. Like the entire British legal system, it operates on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

It is therefore down to the local planning authority to construct a conclusive case as to why a development cannot go ahead.

"That is very difficult, and that is what the public don't understand," says Mr Evely.

"They think that because they have very real issues about not wanting a development we can turn it down."

Officers like Mr Evely are restricted to dealing with the physical capacity of a particular stretch of road - the maximum number of vehicles it can take.

But residents' concerns are often about what is known as "environmental capacity", which is a matter of opinion and far more difficult to quantify.

It is these concerns that radical schemes like bollards and tolls are designed to tackle.

"People are entitled to have peace and quiet in their own homes," says Mr Evely.

"If they have chosen to buy a house on a main road, they have bought it with their eyes wide open. But people on side roads didn't buy with that in mind and therefore they are entitled to have it."

Public consultation on introducing such schemes on Heslington Lane, Fulford, has been going on for the past few weeks.

The council estimates that if the University of York expansion gets the green light then peak-time traffic in that area will increase by a quarter - a substantial rise, but nowhere near the mathematical capacity of the roads.

"What we are trying to do with Heslington, and more and more if we can, is try and find a way of working with developers to bring back the sorts of conditions that people feel they should have in that particular area and are entitled to," he says. York currently has four bollards in operation at three locations - Stonebow, the Designer Outlet and Bishophill. Mr Evely describes them as "fantastic" with "distinct environmental advantages".

Residents in Park Grove have also requested a bollard, and there are plans for an "intelligent bollard" in Straylands Grove, Heworth.

York's Park & Ride cuts more than two million journeys a year in the city, with its 2,500 car-parking spaces on four sites at Askham bar, Rawcliffe, Grimston bar and the Designer Outlet.

Plans for further Park & Ride sites at Monk's Cross and on the A59 should increase that figure by another half a million.

"In the last five years, traffic conditions in York have really gone through the roof," said Mr Evely.

"The reason for that goes back to our fundamental success in the economic field. There are as many people coming in from Leeds as going out. We have got a peak time at 7am that was not there five years ago."

:: Public 'key' to unlock gridlock

PUBLIC involvement in targeting York's transport needs is the key to stopping gridlock, says Coun Ann Reid.

City of York Council's executive member for planning and transport today urged residents to participate in the city-wide consultation about the next Local Transport Plan.

"We genuinely want to know what people think. We are getting a really good response, but none of that will work if people aren't willing to support it," she said.

"If people want more bus lanes then they need to make use of them.

"But, we have proved that providing a good, reliable service at a price that people are willing to pay works."

Coun Reid said that while bus use in the country was declining, in York it was on the increase, particularly on the ten-minute routes.

She said that huge efforts were being made to cut down on the school run, including safe cycling routes and green travel plans.

Labour spokesperson for planning and transport, Tracey Simpson-Laing, has submitted a motion to Thursday's full council meeting asking for a masterplan to be created for the Foss Basin along the lines of York Central. "You can do carrot-and-stick as much as you want with the council coming up with numerous proposals, but if you overdevelop an area, you are going to find it hard to stop people driving," she said.

Coun Simpson-Laing said that although the last Local Transport Plan had shown great results, planning and transport needed to be considered together.

:: Traffic hotspots

THE following areas were identified as traffic hotspots by Peter Evely.

The inner ring-road

The A64 was "increasingly having problems, particularly the Hopgrove area"

Foss Islands is already very busy and Mr Evely estimates there will be a "big jump" resulting from all the new developments which have planning approval. "We estimate around 33 per cent in the morning peak in the Foss Basin, and that's excluding Morrison's."

The Heslington Lane area.

"These all have a knock-on effect because then you get the main roads filling up and people start to use the side roads as rat runs," says Mr Evely.

:: Taking a toll on drivers

If residents and councillors give it the thumbs-up, Heslington Lane could become the first toll road in York.

This pioneering scheme would not exclude motorists from an area unless they paid, like a congestion charge, but would employ similar technology to cut down on motorists using it as a through route.

CCTV cameras would monitor traffic in both directions, and anyone who passes through the toll point would have 24 hours to pay at a toll outlet. They would not have to stop.

The council is currently working on the basis of a £2 toll in one direction, although Mr Evely said this could become as much as £5 in peak times and nothing at quieter periods.

Regular road users would be able to buy a season ticket to go through the toll point as often as they wish.

Alternatively, residents could opt for a rising bollard, allowing access for emergency vehicles only, or an intelligent bollard, operated by a special residents' pass.

Updated: 08:37 Tuesday, April 27, 2004