Pitfalls of failing to enforce street rules (From York Press)

Pitfalls of failing to enforce street rules

9:57am Thursday 21st February 2013 in Letters By Reader's letter

I NOTE in your pages that footstreet hours are to be reorganised in York. I suppose that they will not be extended to Fossgate, which has so often been nominated as an addition to the footstreet system?

Two suggestions. First, the city council has done as little as possible to enforce exclusion of traffic during footstreet hours.

No doubt in these straitened times it will not do more than exhort, though it is difficult to see that a few bollards would cost much.

However, signs should be put in place which in large letters indicate traffic is prohibited in certain streets in certain hours. It should be impossible for drivers to say, as they do at present, that they “did not know”.

Second, given the lack of enforcement, I urge strongly that Castlegate and Goodramgate in particular should become roads open to all traffic at all times. It is dangerous for pedestrians to think that are walking in a traffic-free area and find the hard way that they are not doing so, especially when the traffic comes from behind them. Goodramgate in particular at some times seizes up with traffic in supposedly prohibited times. Rules that are not enforced should be abandoned.

One would hope that Coun Dave Merrett and his team would want a system which works, not one which is little more than a laughing stock.

David Rubinstein, Portland Street, York.