It’s that time of year again when people reflect on the things they would like to improve not just about themselves but also for their city.
People across Leeds have watched as the city changed with more roadworks in place but also new restaurants and shops opening.
This year has also seen life go back to some form of normality following the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more: New food village 'similar to Manchester' could open at Leeds Kirkgate Market
With just a few days before the year ends, residents of the city shared some of the things they would like to see improved or changed in 2023.
The demands ranged from more bins, better public transport and even urging for more people to come into town.
We spoke to market stallholder Nawd Rahimi who wanted to see more young people at work and ways to keep women safe on nights out.
The 21-year-old said: “The lack of jobs, the majority of young people in this city are unemployed. That needs to change.
“They’ve also done a one-way system which has made traffic worse for people especially if they work in town. It’s hard for them to go to work because of the lack of parking spaces.
“There also needs to be better ways for young people to go home after a night out especially young women for their safety.”
He wasn’t the only one who complained about the issues with traffic in the city centre. This has become a huge talking point in the past few weeks.
Some people also believed that this is the reason why more people opt to stay away from the city centre and shop online instead.
John Walker, 75, who works on a stall at the market said: “I was walking on Briggate and I was shocked at how many shops are empty. It’s not what it used to be.
“No one comes to town, they just go online. It’s quiet as you can see there’s no one. It would be lovely if more people can come into town.”
Talking about high streets: “If it wasn’t for coffee shops, hairdressers and bookies, it would be empty.”
Stallholder Christopher Richard remembers a time people would travel far and wide to come and shop at Leeds Kirkgate Market but when we visited on a cold December morning he said: “no one is coming to town.”
He added: “There are more starlings and pigeons than people. I’ve been here 28 years, I would be making more if I had stuck on my paper round. It’s awful, no one is coming to town. There's a lack of parking, it’s expensive parking too.”
Stallworker Fred Manning agreed and stated that he would like to see more people coming back to town.
A grandma who didn’t wish to be named, she believes if there was affordable parking more people would come into town again.
She said the market began facing the biggest problems when the parking site was demolished and replaced with the shopping centre
“It would be nice if there was more parking,” she said. “They got rid of the car park that was by John Lewis since they got rid of that, it’s gone downhill.
“At the moment people are complaining about the queues because they can’t drive in.
“I used to do all my shopping in town but there are no department stores, House of Fraser and Debenhams have gone. The ones that are left are expensive. I go into John Lewis their everyday items aren’t bad but who knows how long that will last?
“I want to see more people out and about.”
A man in his 20s said he would like to see better public transport and a reduction in traffic.
He lives on “the other side of Wakefield” which takes over an hour to get into Leeds whether he is driving or using a train. But due to the unreliability of trains and the strikes, he prefers to drive.
He said: “I’d be happy to see better public transport, it’s not the best. All the trains are usually cancelled because of the strikes.”
Lastly, it’s a student said she would love to see more bins and clothes shops in Headingley. She told us, if there were more clothes shops in the student area, there would be no need for her to travel into town other than for work.
She added: “More bins! I just think everywhere needs more bins.
“If there were more clothes shops in Headingley, there wouldn’t be a need for me to come into town. I don’t think students would come here if there was. I only come into town when I’m working or want to go to like Primark.”
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