Local councillors in Micklegate Ward are calling for an "army of street volunteers" to win support for a proposed trial of a 20mph speed limit in residential streets, across a wide area of the Ward.

A 20mph speed limit trial covering the South Bank area of the city and many neighbouring streets has been given the thumbs up from councillors who prompted the trial being agreed. Micklegate councillors had collected signatures for three petitions in their ward, including from Nunmill Street and Scarcroft Hill residents, and won support through Saturday morning street stalls, and other public campaigning

Now 50% of households need to support the 20mph proposal for safer streets. Ward councillor Sandy Fraser commented:

"We are calling for local ‘street champions' for the scheme to come forward, and join us in getting fellow residents to sign up. We need to send a strong signal that despite Coun. Galloway's best attempts to scupper the proposal, we will not allow that to happen. Supporters of the scheme should get in touch with their ward councillors so we can work together to ensure the trial is a success".

Three petitions have prompted officers to propose the wider South Bank trial, something welcomed by local councillor Julie Gunnell. She said:

"I presented the Nunmill Street and Scarcroft Hill petitions in July last year and there was significant support among residents to make their streets safer. The streets in this trial do lend themselves to a lower speed limit anyway, as there is little space with cars parked down both sides of many of the streets. Faster traffic is even more of a danger here as drivers will often not see pedestrians stepping out until the very last second.

"I believe once the trial is over you will see the vast majority of residents in favour of making the lower limit permanent, which I very much hope is the case".

However, fellow ward councillor Sandy Fraser questioned the arbitrary-set figure of 50% of households having to be in favour to progress a 20mph speed limit on a given street. He said:

"The threshold of 50% for positive respondents to this consultation is quite wrong and seems to have been set on the whim of Coun. Steve Galloway, who we know to be against creating safer streets in the city. It assumes that non-respondents are ‘no votes', which is a distortion of the facts. On the contrary, one would expect those not responding to not be against the proposal, or they would respond. Were this rule applied to local elections, Coun. Galloway would not be a councillor".