SURVEY results revealed this week prove parking problems around Ilkley Railway Station are mostly caused by drivers travelling from less than 1,500 metres away.

Commissioned by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) in response to concerns about the problems caused by on-street parking in Ilkley, it found a significant number of commuters arriving at the station by car came from within 1,500 metres of the station, debunking the myth issues were caused by motorists from further afield.

Eight-six per cent of people questioned said they used Ilkley as it was their nearest station, leading surveyors to conclude it is unlikely there are a significant numbers of rail users driving to it from North Yorkshire.

Apart from people living in Ilkley, the other significant number of rail users who drive to the town station are from Addingham.

While the station car park is well used, "a significant level of rail user parking" is in Wells Road, Wells Promenade and Wells Walk, as well as Cowpasture Road, with "relatively few rail users" parking in the terraced streets of Nile Road, Victory Road, Trafalgar Road, Nelson Road and Wellington Street.

Surveyors found the Railway Road car park seemed underused, perhaps because until recently it was unsurfaced and did not have marked bays. The report states: "It seem likely that charging could be implemented in this car park in the near future following the resurfacing."

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Ind, Ilkley), who met with WYCA chairman, Cllr Keith Wakefield, earlier this year to secure the survey, said that while the report did not give the answers, it did give Bradford highway planners an indication of the direction they should be looking in.

"From the survey, it appears that most early morning commuters are parking to the south of the railway in such roads as Wells Road and those leading up from Station Road," said Cllr Hawkesworth.

"This confirms the view of residents in the 'Napoleonic wars' area that those parking on their streets are in the main not rail commuters but tend to be motorists parking there later in the morning.

"There are obviously commuters coming from Addingham, quite understandably, however the long-held myth that people were coming from out of West Yorkshire for cheap rail travel is not proven. It does show quite clearly that many who catch the early morning trains are homegrown.

"Bradford highway planners now need to get their heads around these facts. They need to look at best practice in other towns, such as Harrogate. In Otley, there are buses linked to rail travel. We need some answers and solutions."

She said she is pleased to note 41 per cent of those questioned were dropped off at the station. "The more we can encourage that, the better," she added.

About 2,000 people use Ilkley Railway Station every day. The survey was carried out by staff from Bradford Council during three weekday mornings – May 10,11 and 12 – and Saturday, May 14.

Surveyors were at the station from 5.45am to 11.15am on weekdays and from 6.10am to 11.10am on Saturday, to question commuters using the 23 services that depart from Ilkley Station between these times.

A total of 846 people were questioned, and of these, 51 per cent were travelling to Leeds, 20 per cent to London, 21 per cent to other destinations in the UK and seven per cent of other stations in West Yorkshire.

The WYCA survey will be followed by a Bradford Council study with a wider remit to look at parking problems across Ilkley and their possible solutions.