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For the hundreds of us who brave the serpent-like queues morning, noon and night, travelling to the University occasionally becomes a bit of a chore. However, the travelling enthusiast may be about to meet a very nasty obstacle; York City Council and their congestion charge scheme.
As the need to be ‘green’ is currently in vogue, the Council are pretty quick to emphasise that issues of pollution are central to the whole debacle, claiming that “motorised traffic and congestion [...] will lead to continuing air quality problems and increases in greenhouse gas emissions”. All in all, this is a fair and justifiable point considering that traffic levels are expected to rise in York by over 28% over the course of the next decade. However, do congestion charges help in the endeavour to reduce CO2 emissions? Westminster City Council announced a slight decrease in CO2 (3% in 2007), but this is hardly statistically significant.
According to council reports, congestion has rather amusingly been shown to inhibit and also restrict social interaction. With eyebrows raised, how on earth did they arrive at this conclusion? Even if Yorkers aren’t being particularly sociable at the moment, there are other factors at play here; the economic downturn, the cold snap, or simply a distinct lack of friends! But with all this talk of noise pollution and poor air quality, it’s a wonder we ever leave the house at all.
Another striking claim is that congestion is bludgeoning the York economy to death. High traffic levels are failing to attract new jobs and investors to the area, and the tourist trade is also losing interest. This is also highly contestable: surely if restrictions are imposed, people are going to go elsewhere and not the reverse. Shoppers are going to boycott the city centre and opt for Monks Cross, Clifton Moor and the superbly stylish Designer Outlet. As a result, the inner city shops will suffer and businesses which were once booming may be ironically driven out. If not careful, York will become the next Mary Celestial town of Britain.
Truth be known, it is not a totally fresh concept. In 2005, the idea met the wrath of the firing squad after the idea bombed in Edinburgh. At the time Ann Reid, the executive member for transport at York Council, commented in The Times Online that; “The Edinburgh result shows people are not yet willing to give up their right to drive. We feel there are lots of other ways of tackling congestion, such as better buses and more park-and-ride schemes.”
Presumably, then, we are now willing to give up our rights as drivers and bow down to Public Transport? But how do the big wigs down at the council suppose that the transport networks will cope? Don’t expect to go anywhere in a hurry!
When York is flooded, six feet under snow or simply has the sniffles, all public transport tends to suffer a bout with schizophrenia. Therefore, unless you are a) Linford Christie or b) the proud owner of a shiny speed boat and can power up or down the Ouse, you’re onto a pretty sticky wicket. This plan thwarted, you don’t have very many options left other than to abort mission; this would make you miss your 9:15am lecture, and in time would probably get you thrown out. But fear not, council officials have announced that a bid of £20.8m has been approved by the Regional Transport Board, allowing for the redevelopment and the ‘tarting-up’ of the transport networks. “By 2026 York is benefiting from one of the best and most popular local bus services in the country outside London, offering a seamless passenger experience, with a single competitively priced ticketing system”. It all sounds rather hopeful, but haven’t we heard these empty promises somewhere before?
In true council style there appears to be a distinct lack of elaboration concerning both the perimeters of zones, and also the charges involved. However, we can safely assume that Uof Y fits snugly within one of these ‘zones’. Thanks to the expansion of Heslington East, The University York has been identified as a potential congested hot-spot. Additional traffic is predicted from future employment and also from the residential developments currently in progress. They dig up car parks, close roads for the purposes of more digging and then decide to charge the frequenters of an establishment that produces the experts and professionals of the future. You would think that learning was strictly off the menu.
Ball park figures have not yet been given as to the individual cost of the charges. A study carried out on three of York’s major bridges in 2006, however, does give clarity. Tolls ranging between £1 and £5 were enforced, but to little effect and were not seen to significantly reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. Therefore, in order to deter drivers and also recoup council costs, you could expect the charges to cost a pretty penny.
The collection methods set forward lack any thought or backbone. Several mechanisms have been suggested, but none considered in any great degree; zone charging, distance based charging, time based charging, toll booths, electronic direct-debit and number plate recognition, to mention but a few. The latter is incredibly dubious; aside from the fact that number plate cloning is on the up, all this does is give way to a state of Big Brother. Are we not watched enough?
Despite all of the usual council drivel, they have failed to recognise and address a pretty salient issue; what about the residents? In all 6 public reports, the residents are not considered once. Yes, there are tedious spiels about how we will benefit from better air quality [blah, blah, blah], but these are all empty words. What residents are really interested in is not whether their lungs will relish the spotless air, but how will it actually affect day-to-day routines? No comment!
Admittedly, the council say that it is not possible to implement the scheme before the middle to end of the next decade. Therefore, if it’s not something which is on the immediate horizon why get us all hot and bothered now? It is purely media fodder?
And so this concludes; it would appear that we are momentarily safe from untold perils, but it might be prudent to have a magic carpet at your disposal.
A pretty boring and pointless article if you ask me! I don't know of anyone rich and stupid enough to even have a car at uni, let alone drive to their lectures and seminars everyday in the 'serpent-like queues'. What's wrong with walking or cycling like the rest of us? (That question is aimed at all four of you reading this and thinking 'Oh yes, I drive in every day. This is terrible news!')
I really don't understand why any student at York would have a car here. With very few exceptions, all of us live in York, which means a maximum of two and a half miles away from campus. For most of us, cycling that distance is hardly tricky and takes fifteen minutes tops.
York is not exactly a huge spreadeagled city so most places are emminently walkable anyway, as many of us discover when stumbling home drunk from town rather than shelling out for a taxi. Car isn't exactly a great help there!
As to Monk's Cross, there are good buses to catch, and ordering shopping online is not exactly rocket science either. Plus getting the train home a few times a year works out much cheaper than even the car insurance, never mind the fuel and the actual cost of the car. And if we do DESPERATELY need a car for something, well taxis aren't really a rarity. Having a car on hand to make the journey with no immediate financial cost just lulls us into laziness.
But apart from the total lack of need for a car, it seems to me like York is absolute hell to drive in! There are loads of one-way streets, traffic lights every couple of minutes, pedestrianised zones at different times of day and a distinct lack of parking spaces. Not to mention the walls meaning for very restricted routes in and out of the centre, which combined with the rivers makes getting into the centre a nightmare! And as to the snow, the one method of transport which genuinely is reliable whatever the weather is our own feet!
So, when comparing the chance to get fit on a bike for a pittance with killing a little bit more of the planet with useless expensive car journeys, it doesn't even seem like a decision to me.
@#2
Exactly right. Having a car at university may seem like a time-saver at first, but after a while it only adds extra cost to student life. Plus, by the time you find a car park which isn't ridiculously expensive or flooded you may as well have walked the distance. A return bus ticket is usually cheaper than car park ticket anyway. Do the right thing and invest in sturdy pairs of shoes, boots and wellies.
My God... I sound so old.
A consultation is taking place. This does not mean the council are in favour of congestion charging. Therefore the last few paragraphs are misleading, unnecessary, poorly researched and a bit of a waste of space.
"the residents aren't considered once" - excuse me? Why don't you go out and actually do some research?
Here's an article about how RESIDENTS are being consulted, totally contradictory to this article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8516201.stm
Eg: here's an article where the head of city strategy attacks congestion charging: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/5014694.York_transport_chief_s_attack_on_congestion_charges/
The council surely ARE listening if they're carrying out a consultation?! The whole point of a consultation is to find out the concerns and opinions of residents.
Also just look at what IS proposed to improve transport in York - more park and ride sites, a freeze on fares, improvements to the outer ring road, resurfacing works, more cycle lanes and safer off-road routes, a partnership with the police to cut down on cycle theft.
If traffic is too much for you to handle, get on your bike or start walking. If you live in york, you can cycle to the University. The public transport system keeps going in the snow too. Look out for the big purple thing going along the university road- it's there in all weather conditions.
Sorry for the rant, but I'm pretty sick of ignorant people like this author constantly running York down. This article is badly researched, grounded in ignorance and is typical 'bash-the-politicians' nonsense. York is leading the country in cycle provision, has cut congestion by getting out of town visitors onto park and ride buses and still manages to have the lowest council tax in Yorkshire.
Get used to congestion. The more people think like you, the more congestion there will be.
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