Traffic officials have refused to provide a walkway across the busy child unfriendly Cross Hill car park - claiming that “it is the responsibility of drivers and pedestrians to be aware of each other”.
The car park is used by hundreds of people each day, including dozens of parents and their young children on their way to and from the adjacent infants’ school on St John’s Road.
The town council had asked the highway authority, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, to consider providing a walkway for pedestrians. But the authority was told by Dean Edwards, of ERYC traffic and parking, that he was unable to agree to the request.
“The matter has been investigated and considered and it has been concluded that it would not be appropriate for an advisory walkway to be provided in the car park. In common with any other car park, both drivers and pedestrians should expect to encounter one another as the driver manoeuvres into and out of position and the pedestrian walks to or from their vehicle.
“It is the responsibility of the drivers and pedestrians to be aware of each other and act in a safe and courteous manner towards each other.”
“In the case of a youngster being in the car park, then the accompanying adult should take responsibility.”
Mr Edwards added: “A single path across part of the car park would not provide a solution as there are so many other different ways a pedestrian could walk within the car park.
“In effect, the whole car park could be classed as a walkway, depending on where someone has been or is going to and, in most cases, pedestrians prefer to walk in a straight path to where they are heading, which in practice would probably mean marked paths are ignored.”
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