Expansion of residents' parking scheme debated

The ParkRes system in York will be discussed at a meeting on Thursday

A parking system that prioritises residents over commuters will be discussed following concerns that many residents are excluded and the scheme is too complex.

York's ResPark system gives households, their visitors, property owners and local businesses priority parking in streets - but only if at least half the residents on a street agree to it.

Councillor Conrad Whitcroft said this percentage could be incredibly difficult to reach in streets with holiday lets, houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) and empty homes.

City of York Council will discuss a motion calling for reforms of the system at a meeting later.

Whitcroft said: “It can be incredibly difficult to reach 50% turnouts in some areas, it’s time we started taking a more efficient approach to this problem.

“Allowing people to park for free on residential streets such as Farrar Street for example, within a stone’s throw of Walmgate Bar, is bound to cause problems for residents living there.”

He added the current system, which only consults two or three streets at a time, merely pushed parking problems further away, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'City-wide parking tax'

The opposition transport spokesperson, Stephen Fenton, said the motion’s request to expand ResPark could see a one-size-fits-all approach imposed, amounting to a parking tax.

The councillor said: “Such an expansion would presumably be imposed from the centre and cover the entire city, which is something that I cannot support.

“At a time when cost-of-living pressures remain high, the imposition of a city-wide parking tax would be a concern for many residents.”

The motion adds that many residents lack ResPark in their streets, including some living near schools and other busy areas for traffic.

The motion also calls for turnout guidelines to be changed to reflect issues in local areas such as having more short-term lets or HMOs.

According to the City of York Council website, the charge for the first household permit at an address is £109.95 for 12 months on a standard rate.

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