CONGESTION charges, a workplace parking levy and a river-based park and ride system are some of the proposals by experts to solve York’s transport woes.

Two transport specialists - Professors Tony May and Greg Marsden - joined heritage campaigners from York Civic Trust to look at traffic problems facing the city, and next week a scrutiny committee of city councillors is due to debate their ideas.

Dr David Fraser, the trust’s chief executive, said: “As a society we are interested in a lot of things, and one of those is the future of York.”

The trust has a project called “Future York” and the transport workshops ran as part of that scheme.

Out of them came some 25 recommendations for transport in and around York. They have been presented to the city council, with some “easy wins” already in place, and next week the transport scrutiny committee will consider the rest in more detail.

“The problems of congestion, air pollution, poor accessibility for some people and journeys and danger on the roads are particularly acute, and are aggravated by the constraints imposed by York’s road network, use of inappropriate freight vehicles and the growth in delivery van traffic,” papers prepared for the meeting say.

Many of the policies put forward to improve the situation are actually about making sure the people causing the congestion are paying for it, Dr Fraser added - using anything from congestion charging to levies on workplace parking.

However, he said, none of the measures they suggested could be considered in isolation, and whatever is considered must suit York and suit the needs of people in the city.

“There is an issue here, it’s hard to get around the city. So what do we want to do about it?” he added.

Cllr Ian Gillies, the city council’s transport executive member, has already met Prof May about the ideas. Some of them - like changing phasing of traffic lights at junctions like George Hudson Street and Micklegate to help pedestrians and cyclists - have already been used.

Cllr Gillies said he had been “kept abreast” of their work, and was considering many more of the suggestions.

“Just because we are in power, doesn’t mean we have all the answers. They have a lot of good ideas and if we can use them, so much the better,” he added.

A consultation has already been started on extending pedestrian only streets onto Fossgate, he added, but more controversial ideas like congestion charging and workplace parking levies are not being considered.

Another eye-catching suggestion is a river-based park and ride, something Dr Fraser said would not help commuters or residents, but could be used by tourists heading into the city.

“What could be more pleasant, if you’re visiting somewhere, than parking your car and taking a boat up the river to the city?” he added.

Beyond the river, the report says the rail network could be used more, with new local stations a possibility.

There is a case for improving the outer ring road, it adds, provided the extra capacity it provides is used to reduce the impact of traffic within the city.

The pedestrian areas should be expanded, it says, with the pedestrian network improved through wider, better maintained pavements and better crossing facilities at junctions, while at the same time there needs to be more provision for cycling off main roads.

Cycling infrastructure is hard to “retro-engineer,” Dr Fraser said, especially in historic narrow streets likes York’s, but it can be done and new developments should certainly not be considered without proper bike lanes.

The existing road network could be used more effectively by enforcing regulations, re-allocating road space and improving the operation of the inner ring road.

Dr Fraser added: “The crucial thing here is there is no easy fix for traffic congestion. It’s a whole package of measures, and a lot of work is about people changing their behaviour, and they won’t do that unless they are presented with a cleaner, quicker, cheaper and more reliable way to get around.”