A YORK resident has told of her concerns about traffic in a residential area of the city.

Barbara Pettitt, 77, lives in Rosemary Place, off Navigation Road, and said traffic in the area has become so bad, she is convinced there will be a tragic outcome.

Mrs Pettitt, who has recently undergone a heart bypass and now uses a walking frame, has started a petition to appeal for traffic restrictions in the area, and said she had recently had to stop two children running into the road for a ball, as they could not see traffic for parked cars.

She said: "I counted the amount of traffic we had last Saturday and there were 450 cars going backwards and forwards, using it as a rat run to get to Morrisons. It was closer to 1,000 at night. They just don't give way and just look at me as if I should fly into the air and you're afraid to go on the path because bikes are using the pavement too.

"I'm just frightened for children's lives because they haven't got a chance. There's traffic and cars parked everywhere and you can't see around them. I think the traffic is horrendous."

Denise Craghill from the Green Party is leading the campaign for a 20mph speed limit on roads in the Navigation Road area, and said: "People like Barbara Pettitt in the Navigation Road area have been asking for this for years.

"The general approach the council is taking is that they aren't including any areas inside the walls because that's the city centre and should be dealt with separately. We think that makes sense for the centre and foot streets, but we believe this area is residential and should be treated the same."

Mrs Pettitt said: "I'm just waiting for something to happen.

"The new hotel will bring people to the city and more cars but while that's encouraging trade, it's just too much. We could do with a pedestrian crossing but there's nothing. With more traffic there won't be anywhere for you to walk safely. You can't relax, you're on edge all the time. All I want to do is to be able to walk across the road safely without having to constantly look both ways while crossing."