Campaigners opposing controversial traffic plans for Bootham and Shipton Road in York today vowed to fight on - despite their apparent victory.

Councillors have decided to drop plans to ban right turns from Gillygate into Bootham and for a "bus gate" at Bootham giving buses priority.

But Roger Wools, chairman of Bootham and Clifton Conservation Group, warned the ideas had only been dropped for the moment and his group would continue to fight the idea of a bus lane in principle.

The measures were part of a package of proposals for the main north road out of York, devised by outside consultants Oscar Faber, and aimed at cutting congestion and pollution.

After widespread public opposition, councillors have now decided to drop the right turn ban and the Bootham bus priority on the advice of officers. They have also decided to go back to the drawing board on the idea for bus priority in Shipton Road between Loweswater Road and Rawcliffe Lane.

But at a meeting yesterday, councillors decided to carry on with proposals to introduce more cycle lanes and pedestrian traffic islands along Shipton Road.

They are also pressing ahead with plans for traffic lights at the junctions of Shipton Road and Rawcliffe Lane and Clifton and Burton Stone Lane.

Dr Wools said he wanted to see the council bring in experts on trees and historic buildings to take part in the revised plans, not just highway engineers.

And he questioned whether the congestion problem was as bad as officers claimed, saying queues only built up at peak times of day.

At yesterday's meeting fellow Rawcliffe councillor Mark Waudby said: "Everybody agrees that something has to be done. But the general consensus was that there was too much in too small a space."

Coun John Boardman said some residents were worried Burton Stone Lane would be used as a rat-run, but that that would no longer such a great concern as the right-turn ban at Gillygate was being dropped.

Coun Irene Waudby said one of the ideas that had come up at a public meeting was to look at schools in Bootham and Clifton being able to use the Park and Ride at Rawcliffe Bar so parents could drop chldren off there instead of driving into York.

This idea was taken up by the councillors and Coun Dave Merrett said he felt it was one of the benefits of the consultation. He said it had showed that residents did agree that something had to be done.

Once the next stage of designs have been completed there will be another round of public consultation.

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