WITH reference to readers who are concerned about parking on verges (Letters, March 16), I would like to explain the legal position.

Under highway law, a verge has no different status to that of a carriageway. Anyone who causes damage to the highway, be it a verge or a carriageway, is responsible for the full cost of repairing that damage.

Enforcement is an entirely different matter as the council has to be able to prove in a court that a particular individual caused a specific piece of damage. Without that proof, we simply cannot prosecute.

Making an order to control parking on a verge is possible but there are significant practical problems.

The council looks after verges with an area equivalent to more than 130 full-sized football pitches. If we were to make an order covering just five per cent of that area, the cost of the signs alone would be more than £250,000. Without these signs prosecution would not be possible.

Readers can imagine the visual impact that this forest of signs would have. Even then, the council could not actually do anything as the law would have to be enforced by the police.

The council will continue to take action against anyone who damages our verges where we can obtain sufficient evidence.

Where a specific use would justify the considerable expense of converting the verge to a hard surface, we talk to residents before deciding on any action as we understand that this is a very sensitive issue.

Residents around the junction of Clifton with Rawcliffe Lane may wish to know that we will shortly be consulting about converting part of the grass verge to a cycle route so as to provide a formal cycle bypass to the traffic signals.

Peter Evely,

Head of network management,

City of York Council,

St Leonard's Place,

York.

Updated: 09:18 Tuesday, March 28, 2006