SPEEDING motorists and HGV's travelling through residential streets are among the concerns raised by residents following the launch of a new road safety campaign in York.

The Tang Hall and Heworth Road Safety Campaign has attracted members who either live, work or visit the Tang Hall and Heworth area.

They have come together in an effort to improve all aspects of road safety in the area by working with local stakeholders, including City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police.

The campaign was set up by former Tang Hall resident Doug Doherty after he was nearly hit by a car at the pelican crossing on Tang Hall Lane.

He started a new group on Facebook for the campaign and it has attracted more than 300 members so far.

Mr Doherty, 48, who now lives in Fossway, York, said: "I created the campaign in the hope of addressing concerns I have and concerns friends have as well. I didn’t expect it to catch the imagination like it has.

York Press:

"A number of concerns have been raised by various members.

"There's concern about the number of cars parking in front of driveways and grass verges and then people walking or getting a bus into work.

"There's also concern about a lack of safety awareness from school kids. For example, they will go into the road without looking.

"In addition, there is a concern about HGV's going through residential streets."

He added: "This whole campaign is about giving people a voice to make a positive change. We realise nothing is going to happen overnight.

"It is not about blaming cyclists or drivers or pedestrians, it's about coming together as a community to find positive solutions.

"We hope to turn the campaign into a fully fledged organisation to keep the organisation going."

One member of the campaign's Facebook group is Nick Jones, 61, who lives in Heworth.

He says he cycles to work at the University of York every day and has had a number of near misses on Melrosegate.

"There's a lack of awareness of distance, and the amount of space drivers need to give cyclists," he explained.

"The situation is made worse by street parking and the number of cars parked along the roads, particularly at the bottom of Melrosegate."

Another member of the group, John Cossham, 52, of Hull Road, is concerned about speeding in the area, particularly on Hull Road, Tang Hall Lane and Melrosegate.

He said: "We need to make the roads safer for cyclists to use these roads. The majority of drivers are courteous but there are occasional ones who speed.

"I have tried to organise a community speed watch. Police said there wasn't a problem. They put up a speed monitoring device on Hull Road that measured the speed of every vehicle then they took the average. They said it was too low to justify having a community speed watch."

This is where fully trained community residents visit pre-approved sites with a radar to record the speed and registration number of offending vehicles.

On July 13, from noon to 2pm, a meeting will take place at Tang Hall Community Centre, which residents are invited to attend and share their concerns about road safety issues in Tang Hall and Heworth.

Mr Doherty said that York Central MP Rachael Maskell will be attending, as will Hull Road Ward councillor Michael Pavlovic and police officers from the local Safer Neighborhood Team.

Those wishing to attend should join the Facebook group, which has the same name as the campaign, and post a message on the page.