Introduction of Blue Badge car parking bays on Lendal, Blake Street and Davygate

City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Place
Service Area:		Transport
Name of the proposal :		Introduction of Blue Badge car parking bays on Lendal, Blake Street and Davygate
Lead officer:		Helene Vergereau, Head of Highway Access and Development
Date assessment completed:		4 April 2024
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Darren Hobson	Traffic Management Team Leader		CYC	Transport
David Smith	Access officer		CYC	Accessibility

Step 1 – Aims and intended outcomes 

1.1

What is the purpose of the proposal? Please explain your proposal in Plain English avoiding acronyms and jargon.

The proposal aims to introduce an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) to provide loading and Blue Badge bays in Lendal and Blake Street and Davygate. The bays will be used for loading between 6am and 10.30am and will be reserved for Blue Badge holders outside of these hours. For the bays in Blake Street and Lendal, Blue Badge parking will therefore be available between 10.30am and 6am the next day, with Blue Badge access during footstreet hours (10.30 am to 5pm) permitted through the hostile vehicle mitigation bollards on Blake Street on presentation of a Blue Badge. Vehicles carrying Blue Badge holders are permitted to exit through the bollards on Lendal. For the bays on Davygate, as vehicular access is only permitted outside of the footstreet hours, Blue Badge parking will be available from 5pm until 6am the next day. The proposed bays will be implemented without a limit on the duration of stay. This is to provide a longer duration of parking for Blue Badge holders to improve access to the city centre. This may be changed during the Experimental Order if the evidence gathered during this time shows that time limits are required. The Order will be implemented as an Experimental Order as this process enables: · The bays to be put in place quickly; · The consultation to take place whilst the bays are in place, providing feedback from users based on lived experience of the bays to better inform any future decisions on the matter; · The bays or time restrictions to be changed quickly if they need to be amended based on user experience and the feedback received.

1.2

Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 Inclusive Mobility, A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure, Department for Transport BS8300 Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment, Part 1: External environment — Code of practice Equality Act 2010

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	Blue Badge holders and the people they travel by car with (carers, family, friends, taxis, etc). Local businesses, their customers, and the suppliers and contractors delivering to those businesses. Highway users, including people walking and cycling and users of cycle parking on the streets

1.4	What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom?  This section should explain what outcomes you want to achieve for service users, staff and/or the wider community. Demonstrate how the proposal links to the Council Plan (2019- 2023) and other corporate strategies and plans.
	The provision of Blue Badge bays in Blake Street, Lendal and Davygate aims to improve access to the city centre for Blue Badge holders by providing an alternative to parking on double yellow lines which is restricted to a maximum duration of 3 hours and does not provide parking bays.

Step 2 – Gathering the information and feedback 

2.1	What sources of data, evidence and consultation feedback do we have to help us understand the impact of the proposal on equality rights and human rights? Please consider a range of sources, including: consultation exercises, surveys, feedback from staff, stakeholders, participants, research reports, the views of equality groups, as well your own experience of working in this area etc.
Source of data/supporting evidence		Reason for using
Feedback from the York City centre accessibility workshops facilitated by MIMA		Workshops have been focusing on access to the city centre and how this can be improved and provided feedback based on users’ lived experience
Feedback from the York Access Forum		The Access Forum meets regularly to provide feedback on access issues in York
Inclusive Mobility, House of Commons Blue Badges and parking for disabled people, and other relevant publications		Additional information on the impact of providing Blue Badge bays, design recommendations, etc

Step 3 – Gaps in data and knowledge

3.1	What are the main gaps in information and understanding of the impact of your proposal?  Please indicate how any gaps will be dealt with.
Gaps in data or knowledge		Action to deal with this
Will the bays deliver an improved experience to access the City Centre for Blue badge holders?		Monitoring and feedback through the ETRO process, including through the York City centre accessibility workshops and the York Access Forum
Will the loading capacity be sufficient for local businesses?		Monitoring and feedback through the ETRO process

Step 4 – Analysing the impacts or effects.

4.1

Please consider what the evidence tells you about the likely impact (positive or negative) on people sharing a protected characteristic, i.e. how significant could the impacts be if we did not make any adjustments? Remember the duty is also positive – so please identify where the proposal offers opportunities to promote equality and/or foster good relations.

Equality Groups and Human Rights.	Key Findings/Impacts of the recommended option	Positive (+) Negative (-) Neutral (0)	High (H) Medium (M) Low (L)
Age	See below, the benefits are anticipated to be realised for Blue Badge holders and their family, friends, and carers. Older people are more likely to hold a Blue Badge so the benefits described under the “Disability” section will be relevant to older people who have a Blue Badge.	+	M
Disability	The proposed Blue Badge bays will provide a new car parking option, using bays for unlimited durations, to supplement the existing option to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours in locations which are close to City Centre shops and services. The bays will enable parking without any time limit, apart from the need to vacate the bays to enable loading to take place between 6 and 10.30am every day. This will be reviewed during the experimental order based on monitoring and feedback. The provision of the bays is anticipated to have a positive impact on accessibility to the City Centre, including during footstreet hours where vehicular access is restricted, including for Blue Badge holders who are permitted access on two loops only. The impact will be relatively limited as only 5 bays are proposed in total and only 3 bays will be available during footstreet hours. As noted in the report, some accessibility issues will remain for the proposed bays as they are close to cobbled areas and although dropped kerbs and/or raised tables are generally available close by to enable users to rejoin the footways, these are not directly adjacent to the proposed bays.	+	M
Gender	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Gender Reassignment	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Marriage and civil partnership	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Pregnancy and maternity	No potential disproportionate impacts identified. Some people may experience mobility issues during or after pregnancy. If this results in them becoming a Blue Badge holder, the impacts described in the “Disability” section above will be relevant.	+	M
Race	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Religion and belief	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Sexual orientation	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Other Socio-economic groups including :	Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer	For carers who take care of a Blue Badge holders, the impacts identified in the “Disability” section will be relevant.	+	M
Low income groups	No potential disproportionate impacts identified.
Veterans, Armed Forces Community	No potential disproportionate impacts identified. Some members of the veterans and armed forces community may experience mobility issues. If they are a Blue Badge holder, the impacts described in the “Disability” section above will be relevant.	+	M
Other	Not applicable
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.	The proposal should have a positive impact with regard to: · Article 8 “Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence”. This includes a right to participate in essential economic, social, cultural and leisure activities. In some circumstances, public authorities may need to help people enjoy their right to a private life, including their ability to participate in society. · Article 14 “Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms”. This requires that all of the rights and freedoms set out in the Human Rights Act must be protected and applied without discrimination.	+	M

Use the following guidance to inform your responses:

Indicate:

- Where you think that the proposal could have a POSITIVE impact on any of the equality groups like promoting equality and equal opportunities or improving relations within equality groups

- Where you think that the proposal could have a NEGATIVE impact on any of the equality groups, i.e. it could disadvantage them

- Where you think that this proposal has a NEUTRAL effect on any of the equality groups listed below i.e. it has no effect currently on equality groups.

It is important to remember that a proposal may be highly relevant to one aspect of equality and not relevant to another.

High impact (The proposal or process is very equality relevant)	There is significant potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or public facing The proposal has consequences for or affects significant numbers of people The proposal has the potential to make a significant contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights.
Medium impact (The proposal or process is somewhat equality relevant)	There is some evidence to suggest potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or across services, but mainly internal The proposal has consequences for or affects some people The proposal has the potential to make a contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights
Low impact (The proposal or process might be equality relevant)	There is little evidence to suggest that the proposal could result in adverse impact The proposal operates in a limited way The proposal has consequences for or affects few people The proposal may have the potential to contribute to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights

Step 5 - Mitigating adverse impacts and maximising positive impacts

5.1

Based on your findings, explain ways you plan to mitigate any unlawful prohibited conduct or unwanted adverse impact. Where positive impacts have been identified, what is been done to optimise opportunities to advance equality or foster good relations?

The proposal is anticipated to have positive impacts, improving access to the city centre for Blue Badge holders. As the recommended option proposes that the bays be provided through an Experimental Order, this will enable CYC to monitor the usage of the bays and gather feedback based on lived experience. This may lead to some changes being implemented during the Experimental Order and will inform the decision on whether the bays should be made permanent at the end of the Experimental Order.

Step 6 – Recommendations and conclusions of the assessment

6.1	Having considered the potential or actual impacts you should be in a position to make an informed judgement on what should be done. In all cases, document your reasoning that justifies your decision. There are four main options you can take:
- No major change to the proposal – the EIA demonstrates the proposal is robust.  There is no                         potential  for unlawful discrimination or adverse impact and you have taken all opportunities to    advance equality and foster good relations, subject to continuing monitor and review.
- Adjust the proposal – the EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. This involves taking steps to remove any barriers, to better advance quality or to foster good relations. - Continue with the proposal (despite the potential for adverse impact) – you should clearly set out the justifications for doing this and how you believe the decision is compatible with our obligations under the duty - Stop and remove the proposal – if there are adverse effects that are not justified and cannot be mitigated, you should consider stopping the proposal altogether. If a proposal leads to unlawful discrimination it should be removed or changed. Important: If there are any adverse impacts you cannot mitigate, please provide a compelling reason in the justification column.
Option selected		Conclusions/justification
No major change to the proposal		The proposal is anticipated to have positive impacts, improving access to the city centre for Blue Badge holders. As the recommended option proposes that the bays be provided through an Experimental Order, this will enable CYC to monitor the usage of the bays and gather feedback based on lived experience. This may lead to some changes being implemented during the Experimental Order and will inform the decision on whether the bays should be made permanent at the end of the Experimental Order.

Step 7 – Summary of agreed actions resulting from the assessment

7.1	What action, by whom, will be undertaken as a result of the impact assessment.
Impact/issue		Action to be taken	Person responsible	Timescale
Impact on Blue Badge holders (including those using the bays and those parking on double yellow lines)		Monitor parking activity in the area and gather feedback from users	Helene Vergereau	During the ETRO
Impact on businesses and loading activity		Monitor loading activity in the area and gather feedback from users	Helene Vergereau	During the ETRO

Step 8 - Monitor, review and improve

8. 1

How will the impact of your proposal be monitored and improved upon going forward?   Consider how will you identify the impact of activities on protected characteristics and other marginalised groups going forward? How will any learning and enhancements be capitalised on and embedded?

As the recommended option proposes that the bays be provided through an Experimental Order, the monitoring and consultation will be on-going during the experimental order and will inform the decision on whether the bays should be made permanent at the end of the Experimental Order. Based on initial consultation feedback, issues to monitor will include: - Ease of access to the bays for Blue Badge holders (manoeuvring in and out of the bays, possible conflict with other vehicles, pedestrians at busy times, queues at Bettys on Davygate) - Communications – how will Blue Badge holders know about these bays – information will be included on the website, but more information may be required - Understanding the impact on Blue Badge parking capacity (bays versus double yellow line parking, parking duration in the bays)