RESIDENTS of Hall Croft, Skipton, are calling for cars to be banned from parking on nearby Brook Street so they can get to their homes more easily.

Twenty-six residents have signed a petition asking for double yellow lines at the lower end of Brook Street near the entrance to Slaters' electrical workshop.

The road passes over the canal bridge on to Brewery Lane and is a well-used shortcut for people travelling between Gargrave Road and Morrisons, the railway station and Broughton Road.

And, in a separate move, North Yorkshire County Council is consulting on a proposed one-way system along Brewery Lane.

Traffic is regularly stacked back in both directions when the canal bridge is opened for boats to pass through.

Residents say at such times and also on market days and when parents are picking children up, the presence of parked cars on both sides of Brook Street makes it difficult for them to get in and out of Hall Croft.

They also fear that emergency vehicles could also have problems getting through.

Acting on behalf of the residents, Claire Watters has sent the petition to the county council's highways department

She said: "Even if more car parks are eventually created in Skipton, people will still park on the streets rather than pay car parking fees so we must have the protection of yellow lines at the bottom end of Brook Street now."

The petition was due to be discussed at a Craven Area Committee meeting yesterday (Thursday).

In a report to the meeting, highways officer Stuart Marshall said the implementation of waiting restrictions on Brook Street had been looked at in 2003 but was put on hold until consultations on residents' parking had taken place.

But Mr Marshall said: "It is clear from the residents' petition that the problem of access/egress to Hall Croft has not abated and there is clear concern over the matter. Residents' parking in Skipton has not yet been resolved, but the parking problems on Brook Street/Hall Croft remains."

He added that he thought the two issues needed to be considered independently and new consultations should take place on the plans for waiting restrictions which were originally shelved in 2003.

He said: "Parking of vehicles on both sides of Brook Street causes real problems for all road users; severe congestion occurs and the problem is exacerbated when the canal bridge is open. The original proposals for waiting restrictions would have alleviated the problem.

"Vehicles parked on the footway cause pedestrians to walk in the carriageway and between vehicles. With the nearby schools the route is heavily used by pupils as well as residents."

Hall Croft is across the canal from Belle Vue Mills, which will see a major redevelopment over the next two years.

In a separate move, a one-way system has been proposed for Brewery Lane. It would only allow traffic to travel in a southerly direction from Brook Street to Broughton Road.

The proposal has been advertised and consultations are taking place. It is envisaged the scheme would alleviate traffic in the area but would not solve the parking problems.