A PETITION to create a new pedestrian crossing on a busy York road will go before the council tomorrow (THURS).

More than 200 people signed the petition, which calls for better road safety measures in Lowther Street, after locals claimed traffic was a danger to pedestrians and young students at the nearby Park Grove primary school.

All three of the area’s city councillors - Denise Craghill, James Flinders and Janet Looker - backed the petition, which will go before an Executive member decision session on Thursday.

Officers have previously looked at the need for a crossing at the site, and this work will be recapped during the meeting. The meeting will also see council officers instructed to look at "other potential engineering measures to improve this section of Lowther Street for pedestrians", and help pedestrians cross the road in safety.

A report recommends the site is put forward "for investigation of other engineering measures to improve the situation for pedestrians wishing to cross", which may not include "the requested formal pedestrian crossing".

It acknowledged "petitioners won’t get the type of crossing they have requested and investigations may determine that there are no measures which could be introduced to help pedestrians cross at the site", and the investigation and feasibility work would incur a cost to the council, but this option is favoured over leaving the site as is or immediately installing a pedestrian crossing.

Gordon Campbell-Thomas who helped set up the petition, said: "It is said that it is better to be safe than sorry, in the case of the proposed crossing for Lowther Street. I am certainly of that persuasion. There might not have been a fatality or serious accident in the vicinity of Park Grove School as yet, but can we as a hopefully caring society and City Council take a chance?

"The school is on one side of the road, and the shops are on the other side, it doesn't take much of an imagination to visualise young kids eager to get to the shops stepping out into the road. If nothing has happened so far, either it is the watchful eye of parents picking up their children or maybe luck? I know that the official speed is 20mph, however I can categorically state as a local shop manager, facing onto Lowther Street, unfortunately not everyone obeys that traffic rule. I have even seen cars and lorries going the wrong way down the one way street. 220 local people plus all three Councillors consider some kind of crossing a desirable necessity, let's hope the decision makers do as well."