RESIDENTS will be asked to vote whether to introduce a congestion charge in York.

Householders and businesses are to be asked to choose how they think traffic should be managed if the University of York's plans to build a new Heslington East campus to the south of Field Lane are given the go-ahead.

They can opt to do nothing or to close Heslington Lane, near Goodricke College, to all traffic except emergency vehicles, bicycles and buses by using rising bollards.

Residents can also vote for intelligent bollards, which will close Heslington Lane to general traffic, but allow local residents to get through using a credit-card sized device.

The fourth option is a congestion charge, which if introduced would be among the first outside London. If introduced, motorists would have to pay a toll, estimated to be in the region of £2, to pass a point on the Heslington side of the entrance to Goodricke College.

The toll could cost more during peak hours, but local residents, buses, cyclists and emergency vehicles would not have to pay. Residents will also be asked to tell City of York Council which area of York should be covered by the term "local residents".

Members of the Planning and Transport Advisory Panel decided that information and response sheets should be sent to residents and businesses between Hull Road and Fulford Road, including the Badger Hill estate. Presentations will be held for local residents to learn more about the proposed ideas.

Coun Dave Merrett said: "Quite large numbers of people use it (Heslington Lane) as a cut-through from all parts of the city. We do need to make sure there are some avenues for wider York residents to find out about this and comment," he said.

The proposed Heslington East campus will double the university's current campus size and is expected to attract an extra 5,000 students to the institution over the next decade, bringing the total number to 15,000. It is also expected that the university will employ an extra 2,000 members of staff, bringing total employment figures to almost 5,000.

Peter Evely, head of highway regulation at the council, said: "With that increased capacity will come additional traffic unless robust measures are introduced to both contain and manage it."

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, March 04, 2004