TWO of York's busiest roads will fail air quality targets unless extra steps are taken to tackle pollution, experts have warned.

City of York Council has for some years been monitoring levels of nitrogen dioxide at over 300 sites around the city, including five particular pollution blackspots - Gillygate/Bootham, Fishergate/Paragon Street, Lawrence Street/Foss Islands Road, Nunnery Lane/Prices Lane and Holgate Road/Blossom Street.

Environmental protection manager Mike Southcombe says the council has a statutory duty to try to improve air quality, with a particular emphasis on these sites where specific targets should be met by the end of next year. He said quality would improve everywhere, partly because modern and more efficient vehicles, along with cleaner fuels, led to considerably less pollution than older vehicles and fuels.

But he told the council's Labour shadow executive that two of the sites, Gillygate/Bootham and Fishgergate/Paragon Street, were not expected to improve sufficiently to hit the target.

Now the council will attempt to try to cut pollution levels further through a new Air Quality Action Plan, with many of the proposed measures feeding into the next Local Transport Plan.

Eight key steps were planned, including renewed efforts to persuade people to walk, use bicycles or buses, and to reduce the need to travel, for example by encouraging people to live close to their workplace or work from home. Drivers would also be encouraged to use the outer ring road rather than come through the city.

Congestion charging is not on the agenda, having been ruled out by the Liberal Democrats prior to last summer's council elections.

Shadow transport spokeswoman Tracey Simspon-Laing said after the meeting that she was sceptical the proposed measures would be sufficient to meet targets, considering major developments that were being proposed - particularly in the Fishergate area.

These included 240 flats at the Barbican Centre and a new Morrisons supermarket in Foss Islands Road.

Updated: 10:23 Saturday, May 01, 2004