HUNDREDS of villagers around York are to be asked their views on road safety as part of the city council's latest round of traffic studies.

Over the next few months City of York Council will be carrying out village traffic studies for Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan, Askham Richard, Hessay, Holtby, Knapton and Murton.

Road safety officer Ken Spence said: "The purpose of the village studies is to discover what local traffic and transport issues residents are particularly concerned about.

"This will enable the council, in full consultation with residents, to draw up a list of solutions which it would then seek to progress, where appropriate, through existing and future programmes of work."

The council is also involving the villages' parish councils, and will present reports to parish councillors on the results of the questionnaires which have to be returned the council by Monday, September 30.

Councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, the council's executive member for transport, said: "As a council we are concerned that village residents have the best possible quality of life possible when it comes to traffic safety. All too often villages are used as 'rat-runs' and because of this, life has become noisy and unsafe."

The first phase of the studies is to gather information on traffic volume

and movements. Council teams have already carried out speed surveys in

each village and will undertake traffic counts over the next month.

Residents are being urged to fill in the questionnaires, which give them the opportunity to air any worries, issues or ideas.

Once the information has been gathered and collated the council will produce reports for each village to outline what issues have been raised and make some suggestions about possible solutions.

The completed reports will be presented to the respective parish councils for their consideration.

Anyone with any questions about the traffic studies should phone transport planner Mark Finer on York 551429.

Updated: 09:54 Saturday, September 14, 2002