Motorists fall foul of city’s traffic regulations

THOUSANDS OF motorists who have flouted traffic regulations have been issued with penalty tickets while millions of pounds were collected by a Yorkshire council in parking fines.

York Council has published its draft parking report for last year which has revealed that £7.6m in parking income from car parks, coach parks and residents parking zones during 2017/18.

At the same time, new data about the Coppergate and Low Poppleton Lane bus lanes shows that more than 2,500 fines have been sent to drivers since the start of 2018.

Bus lane enforcement started on Low Poppleton Lane between the old and new Manor School sites earlier this year, and the figures show that 592 warning letters have been sent out plus 456 penalty charge notices so far this year.

The automatic cameras were switched back on in Coppergate in January last year, but drivers were sent warning letters the first time they drove down the bus lane for the initial six months. The figures show that in 2017, more than 7,200 warnings and fines were sent out. For the first four months of this year, 2,200 fines were issued.

Council staff may introduce two more bus lane cameras – at Rawcliffe Bar Park and Ride and at Foss Islands retail park – but a council spokesman said they were still “considering options” before making a public decision.

Last year’s parking report shows that despite an increase in income – from £7.4m in 2016/17 to £7.6m last year – the authority faced slightly higher costs and in 2017/18 had just over £4.8m parking profit, which will be spent on public transport and highways.