A CAMPAIGN is growing to introduce more one way streets to Skipton to improve safety for pedestrians.

The top target is Newmarket Street, which is the narrowest street in the town, with a tiny width of pavement for pedestrians.

Coun Mike Doyle is to put his plans before North Yorkshire County Council's Craven Area Committee after seeking the opinions of groups within the town.

Coun Doyle admitted he was "fed up" of waiting for the county's traffic survey, which was due to be sent out in September but has disappeared into a black hole at County Hall.

He has already put forward one proposal for the town which was backed by the Chamber of Trade.

He said the Newmarket Street one-way option was designed to cure a specific problem and was cheap to implement and easy to abandon if it created more problems than it solved.

"It makes sense to look at Newmarket Street because it is so narrow. There are more 4x4s on the road these days and there are many instances of pedestrians being clipped by a wing mirror," said Coun Doyle.

"I don't want to wait until a little old lady is clipped and dragged under the wheels of a lorry."

Coun Doyle is proposing to make Newmarket Street one way, with traffic only allowed to head into town.

In addition the existing one way route on Rectory Lane would be reversed, so that traffic coming in from the Harrogate road would be able to reach the east part of the town.

Another benefit according to Coun Doyle is that traffic coming into Skipton from the Harrogate direction would be able to enter the town hall car park without congesting the High Street and making the busy Jerry Croft entrance far safer.

"It won't cost much, it can be reversed if it doesn't work and it is doing something about the problem, rather than simply talking about it," he said.

He accepted there was one drawback - traffic coming into Skipton from the south would have to use Westmoreland Street to reach the east of the town but, having had discussions, with various groups, "there was a feeling" that a one-way Newmarket Street would work.

Coun Doyle has also suggested turning the town hall car park into a coach free zone. He wants coaches to drop off and pick up in the bus station off Keighley Road.

Pointing out that the bus station was actually closer to the High Street than the coach parking area of the town hall car park, he said disabled facilities were being incorporated into plans for a refurbished bus station, there would be more space for cars behind the town hall and it would be easier for coaches to manoeuvre on to Keighley Road than Rectory Lane.