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Ilkley Parking recommendations to be discussed
Bradford Council’s Executive is set to discuss in January a paper outlining the authority’s response to an independent review of Ilkley town centre parking undertaken by respected transport consultants, Steer, Davies & Gleave.
The review was commissioned in response to long standing concerns in Ilkley over the impact of unregulated parking and excess demand for spaces caused in part by rail commuters. This has been taking up parking that should be used for shoppers and causing problems for residents on the edge of the town centre.
The Ilkley Parking Review made a series of recommendations to better manage parking and the Council plans to adopt the recommendations in full.
In October, the authority held a public consultation on the proposals which was extended in response to significant public interest. Officers also visited town centre businesses in order to understand their parking needs.
Residents’ parking permits and on-street pay and display parking will be introduced as part of the scheme.
The Council plans to double the number of proposed disabled parking bays making Ilkley more accessible for disabled drivers.
Based on feedback from discussions with the Ilkley Business Forum, the authority proposes to introduce a new loading bay to support business use in the town centre.
Coun Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We have chosen to table the Executive paper in order to be as transparent and accountable as possible.
“The proposals will help better manage parking in and around the town centre, however, we understand concerns expressed by groups such as the Ilkley BID Development Board on the potential impact on people who work in the town centre. We will talk to partners to consider how we can mitigate this.
“We are also working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority on developing proposals for greater car parking capacity at Ben Rhydding train station, which would help alleviate some of the pressure currently caused by commuters.”