MAKING a U-turn over controversial changes to a busy York junction could be a waste of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash, it has been claimed.

City of York Council is looking at reinstating the left-hand filter lane at Clifton Green, introduced as part of a scheme to create extra space for cyclists on Water End, following claims the project had increased gridlock and led to nearby streets becoming “rat-runs”.

The authority’s executive member for city strategy, Coun Steve Galloway, will next week decide whether to bring the lane back, only 19 months after it was removed.

But council officials warn it would cost about £35,000 and is “not viewed as good value for money”. They say it would also create a possible danger for cyclists and pedestrians.

Council project manager Mike Durkin and senior engineer Jon Pickles have analysed the junction and public opinion, and their findings will be presented to Coun Galloway next week.

The layout was analysed again following a campaign by local councillors and residents, including those on nearby Westminster Road and The Avenue, who say drivers trying to avoid the queues at Clifton Green have made their streets dangerous.

However, police, the ambulance service and cycling groups have raised concerns about bringing back the filter lane, which would involve a cycle route being slotted between two lanes of traffic, while the majority of residents who took part in a survey on the issue were against its return.

The options available to Coun Galloway are to reinstate the lane, amend the current proposals for bringing it back or keep the stretch of road as it stands.

He said: “I will not begin to make up my mind until I have seen all the representations on this issue, which have to be made to the council by the end of tomorrow.”

Next week’s meeting is also expected to see proposals for chicanes to be trialled along Westminster Road and The Avenue as a way of reducing traffic levels on the two streets being rejected due to a lack of support among residents.

This story was amended at 1.25pm today, to correct an unintended error in the original version.