Free parking proposals questioned

Green councillor Andy D’Agorne has slammed the latest city centre free parking proposals, saying they are at odds with York’s transport policies and could lead to greater peak time congestion and air pollution. “Providing free parking from 8am makes no sense when shops dont open until 9am and roads are already clogged with commuters until that time. I would support a scheme for stores to be able to refund park and ride fares, or even offering free parking mid morning Mon – Fri and on Sundays.” A council scrutiny of the ‘Night Time economy’ considered a proposal by Cllr D’Agorne to bring forward free residents parking from 6pm to 5pm but this was rejected. He said “This would help to boost trade more effectively without generating additional traffic compared with this current plan. The latest proposal, like the Lendal Bridge trial hasnt been thought through properly. The city centre does need to fight back against out of town stores, but Labour seem to have lost the plot on transport.”