Park and glide: York freight may go electric

A fleet of electrically-powered vehicles would be used to make deliveries and reduce congestion.

The multi-million pound scheme is among a series of measures being drawn up by York Council to bolster city centre retail and tackle notorious traffic tailbacks and air pollution.

Lower speed limits, an extension of the pedestrianised zone to include streets such as Fossgate and Goodramgate as well as tougher enforcement on motorists flouting traffic regulations are among the proposals.

But the most ambitious element of the strategy is the creation of the freight depot on the edge of the city to shift goods from lorries on to smaller vehicles which would then make deliveries in to the city centre.

The ground-breaking scheme has been mooted for more than 20 years but senior councillors have told the Yorkshire Post that a feasibility study is due to be prepared.

The council’s Cabinet member for city strategy, Coun Dave Merrett, would not be drawn on specific details until the feasibility study is published in the spring but it is understood the fleet of smaller delivery vehicles could be electrically-powered, and a site on the A64 is among the early front-runners for the site of the freight depot.

Similar schemes to create freight interchanges are also being considered for other cities, including London and Manchester.

Coun Merrett said: “We want York to be a world class destination and this requires radical measures to get traffic out of the city centre and help boost trade.

“There are a lot of lorries that head into the centre at the moment, and this is not helping congestion and is also heightening air pollution.

“The aim is to make York a more attractive place for both shoppers and tourists, and to do this we need to reduce the amount of traffic in and around the city centre.”

One of the biggest problems is with motorists flouting traffic regulation orders and using city centre streets during peak times to avoid the congested inner ring road. Coun Merrett admitted the level of abuse is “astronomical”.

The moves to tackle congestion and bolster city centre retail are part of an overarching strategy dubbed Reinvigorate York which was unveiled in September.

The council’s Cabinet has teamed up with Sir Ron Cooke, who is the chairman of York Civic Trust and the Local Strategic Partnership called Without Walls, for the wide-ranging strategy to enhance the city’s public spaces and boost the retail sector.

Business leaders have welcomed the efforts to revitalise the city centre, especially with ground-breaking projects like the proposed freight interchange.

The head of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Susie Cawood, said: “We would welcome any investment that would help traders and encourage economic growth in the city centre.”

A series of pollution blackspots has been identified on the city’s congested roads network, as fumes from traffic tailbacks have contributed to the nitrogen dioxide levels.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in 2010 that pollution had been linked to an estimated 158 premature deaths in York every year.

Official figures revealed the city’s average levels of dangerous nitrogen dioxide during 2009 exceeded targets set by both the council and the Government and stood at their highest point for seven years.