Traders in Heaton have protested business will slump if Bradford Council extends yellow lines as part of a road safety scheme.

The row erupted after Council officers said they wanted to put a pedestrian refuge on busy Emm Lane between Heaton Road and Ashwell Road.

But they want to extend the existing waiting restrictions to make sure parked vehicles do not block the view of pedestrians and drivers.

Today Heaton ward councillor Stanley King, Lord Mayor of Bradford, said the Council had to balance the dangers of a "horrifying" road and the needs of traders.

Business owners have stressed they are not against a road safety scheme. But they believe further restrictions could be the final nail in their coffins if they were allowed to go through.

John Calthorpe, proprietor of Rossefield Motor Company, said he had no objection to a road safety scheme on the difficult road.

But he said the proposed siting of bollards would create difficulties for large lorries and cause danger for people who believed they were crossing in a safe place.

In a letter to Bradford West Area Panel, which will consider the scheme on Wednesday, he said: "The additional yellow lines will make things even more difficult for local businesses than they already are. In our particular case, we have deliveries made throughout the day, a number of them by heavy commercial vehicles, including car transporters which need to be literally outside the door.

"The only time parking and crossing the road is a problem is 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon when parents arrive at school.

"Yellow lines will not help in this situation as the parents stop anywhere to drop off the children, including the double yellow lines which are there at present, and across the T-junction as well."

The Traders of Heaton Village organisation has also submitted a petition opposing the measures.

Councillors will consider a letter from Dr James Hagerty, head teacher of St Bede's Grammar School, who says it is "ludicrous" to put the refuge in a place where the few pupils who benefited from it would also have to cross Heaton Road.

He has told the panel it would be safer to put an island where St Bede's and St Barnabas schools could both benefit.

Coun King said: "It is a second attempt to do this. The first was five years ago when two were proposed but only one was installed because of the potentially damaging effect on local trade.

"It is a big problem and it is horrifying at 8.45 in the morning when large numbers of pupils are trying to cross the road. The traffic is like at a football match. It will reduce it, though, when Shay Lane is blocked to traffic."