A REVIEW of parking charges in North Yorkshire towns is to take place this week to encourage visitors to use off-street car parks and reduce congestion.

The authority will meet on Friday to discuss a proposal to increase on-street charges in Harrogate.

The town’s on-street inner zone is currently the same price as the Jubilee long stay and only 10p more expensive than the Victoria long stay car park. The on-street outer zone is cheaper than both long stay car parks.

On-street tariffs in Harrogate have not changed since September 2011 and the county council believes on-street parking should be higher than off-street charges.

If the proposals go ahead, Monday to Sunday on-street parking tariffs in Harrogate will be increased by 10p per 20 minutes in short stay and 10p per half an hour in the inner and outer zone.

York Press:

The council will subsequently work with Harrogate Borough Council to review on-street parking tariffs in Knaresborough and the impact on traffic management; it will also work with Scarborough Borough Council to review on-street parking charges in Scarborough, Whitby and Filey and will go on to review on-street arrangements in Northallerton.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire’s executive member for highways, said: “Our main aim is to reduce traffic congestion in our very busy town centres and in Harrogate we have been working closely with the Borough Council to review the impact of parking charges on congestion.

“It is a widely-established traffic management principle that on-street parking charges should be higher than off-street charges, because it helps to reduce the number of vehicles using the congested network to find a space as close as possible to their intended destination.”