Annex B       Representations Received

Objections received

·       I am asking you to consider amending the parking restrictions proposed at the bottom of St Oswalds Rd (leading to Love Lane) from ‘no waiting’ to ‘residents only/permit parking’. My request is on the grounds of health and safety for the (council tax paying) residents of Fulford Ings during floods. We have our own parking for the rest of the time. When the Ings floods we need to park our cars at the bottom of St Oswalds. We then wade or row across the Ings and store our waders and oars in the car at the bottom. Parking there also enables us to still get food supplies and transfer them from the car to row boat to get home.

Without this parking we have nowhere to put our cars when the Ings floods, and subsequently nowhere to then change out of waders, transfer shopping etc.

There is no parking along the rest of St Oswalds as many residents park their own cars outside their houses.

This, like I say is only when the Ings is flooded (usually for a few weeks between Nov-Mar).

I hope that you will consider this reasonable request or enable an exception to us when the Ings is flooded.

·       I am writing to object to the proposal to extend “No Waiting At Any Time” to a small section of St Oswald’s Road which includes the area outside my property.

Unfortunately the information received by post about this proposal failed to include any information about the reasons for your plan.  Following an email request, I have now received a copy of your “Statement of Reasons” and I am disappointed to see that this is simply a general statement of Council policy and does not include any reference to the proposal for St Oswald’s Road.

However, the Statement indicates that the Council has a policy of “minimising obstruction and congestion and improving road safety and local amenities whilst at the same time balancing residential and commercial considerations”

I am not aware of any specific issues of obstruction or congestion with regard to this small section of St Oswald’s Road. If there were significant problems relating to obstruction or congestion on St Oswald’s Road then clearly extending double yellow lines along the whole length of the road from Fulford Road to Love Lane might be considered, if traffic statistics indicated a serious problem.  As a resident for 15 years, I am not aware of serious traffic problems on this relatively quiet side street.

Furthermore, your policy does require you to balance issues of obstruction or congestion with residential and commercial considerations and prior to receipt of your proposal I have not received any communication from the council identifying any issues, suggesting possible improvements or inviting residents to contribute to the debate.

It is very disappointing to receive your proposal, seeking support without any attempt to explain the rationale or involve local residents directly affected in the decision making.   

It is difficult to see any benefits from your plan to make this small section a no waiting area but I can see significant disadvantages for local residents living around this part of St Oswald’s Road.

The other main part of St Oswald’s which currently has been designated a no waiting area only has housing on one side of the road and therefore there is no competition from residents on each side for parking spots. At weekends this area is often full of non-residents who park there to walk or cycle along the river via Love Lane.

 

If St Oswald’s Road was a busy thoroughfare, I can imagine a case might be made for double yellow lines for the whole length of the road, but this is not the case and clearly an extra small section of the no waiting as proposed would do nothing for traffic flow on this quiet street.

 

Although every house on this section of St Oswald’s Road has a driveway for off street parking and some properties have converted front gardens for extra parking spaces, some growing families with adult children may now have 3 or 4 vehicles which are difficult to manage for most properties without the access to street parking.  At present the spaces available on either side of the road are shared on a first come first served basis and there rarely seems to be a problem. People are generally considerate and do not park opposite one another.

 

My concern is that your plan would raise the tension between families competing for parking spaces and that those residents on the side of the road without a yellow line would see the space outside their homes as their space and be unhappy if others parked outside their homes.

 

On the rare occasions that we have a family get together we park our two cars outside our house to leave our drive free for our visitors, as do our neighbours. I could continue to do this but park on the opposite side of the road.

 

Finally, this proposal might cause some consternation for some residents and I cannot see any benefits for anyone.  The number of cars owned by residents requiring a parking space will not change.

 

If you go ahead, I can see that you may succeed in moving the vehicles denied parking on St Oswald’s Road around the corner to Atcherley Close which might not go down well with those residents.

 

In summary, I strongly object to the proposal which, to my knowledge, has not involved any consultation with local residents, has no shared data to recommend it and appears to have no benefits.

 

I will be forwarding a copy of this response to my local councillor, Keith Aspden.

·       After receiving notice of proposal to extend traffic restrictions, "No waiting at any time" to a small section of road
(e) (ii) Connaught 65m west to Atcherley Close, which extends across the frontage of my property. I feel compelled to object to this proposal!

Presently residents and visitors to St Oswalds road, are able to sensibility and safely park on this section of road, where they choose, and in the 14 years at this address I have observed no issues whatsoever! And I can see no benefits to your proposal!

My Concern is if you go ahead with the planned "no waiting at anytime restrictions" you will create a problem where vehicles will be parked with less choice, thought and courtesy, to my neighbours on the opposite side of the road to the proposed restrictions.
Parking will be squeezed tightly in the only immediately available spaces between the dropped kerb driveways of numbers- 25, 25A, 26, 27,29 and 30 St Oswalds road.
Some of the vehicles that regularly park down this street often at weekends are MPV's small vans/campervans. And the drivers are often visiting millennium bridge amenities near the river. These parked vehicles will hinder the safe and unrestricted view my neighbours presenty enjoy, when reversing
out of their driveways.
St Oswalds road is a very popular route with cyclists and their children to access the river and cycle path. I believe the inevitable increased parking of these vehicles outside my neighbours properties and restricted view your proposals will create for residents, is a safety issue for cyclists, motorcyclists, residents and all road users.

I propose that 10 metres to the east and 10 metres to the west from the projected centre line of Connaught Court on to St Oswalds road is sufficient, with regards to double yellow no waiting restrictions.
This will enable residents and visitors to continue parking safely rather than the problematic and stressful safety issues your proposal will create.