PLANS to install an 'intelligent bollard' to prevent motorists using a housing estate as a rat run have been given the thumbs-up by residents.

City of York Council looked at ways of stopping traffic jam dodgers, following concerns about vehicles using the route through Straylands Grove as a short-cut between Malton Road and Stockton Lane.

The investigation is part of a wide-ranging consultation on transport plans for the Monk's Cross area.

Traffic experts predict developments there will bring significantly more traffic onto Malton Road and the outer ring road.

One of the main problems identified by council officers was that of motorists using Straylands Grove as a rat run.

A survey found 62 per cent of vehicles entering Straylands Grove from Malton Road passed straight through without stopping once - and an increase in traffic would make the situation worse.

To combat the practice, council officers recommended a new bollard - similar to those installed in Stonebow and Bishophill - at the Malton Road entrance to Straylands Grove.

A public consultation of 183 residents revealed 70 per cent supported the idea.

Just nine per cent wanted the council to take no action at all, while 14 per cent preferred the use of 'access only' road signs.

Only two per cent of respondents supported an alternative plan involving the installation of speed bumps to deter through traffic.

Intelligent bollards elsewhere in York have been praised by York's highways chief Peter Evely as "fantastic" with "distinct environmental advantages" - but they have not been without problems.

The city's first intelligent bollard, installed in Stonebow in 2000, was earlier this year exposed as a failure by the Evening Press, when it was revealed it lowered to let any vehicle through, whether the driver had paid for a pass or not.

A spokeswoman for the council said at the time there were some "intermittent problems", caused by difficulties with automatic number plate recognition technology.

The new intelligent bollard system at Straylands Grove would cost around £60,000 to install, and would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Residents would not need to use the bollard, provided they approached the estate from Stockton Lane.

Those who did wish to use it would be expected to pay a charge of around £20 once every three years.

Councillors will consider the plans at a committee meeting next month.

Updated: 10:14 Tuesday, November 23, 2004