Among the hundreds of motorists, the petition was also supported by dozens of frustrated bus drivers and taxi drivers.

Campaigner Jennifer Taylor said: "We want an apology from the council to the Scarborough people. We want to know why they have wasted our money on traffic lights which are not needed. We want explanations."

The campaign group was formed on social networking website Facebook. The group now has 1, 564 members – a 400 per cent rise in numbers since an article about the campaign group was reported in the Evening News.

There is ongoing controversy in Scarborough over the number of sets of traffic lights which have been put up as part of the town's new integrated transport scheme which includes the creation of new park and ride sites in Seamer Road and Filey Road.

The traffic lights are estimated to have cost a total of £4 million, with 10 new sets installed as part of the new scheme, and 10 existing ones upgraded.

Over the past few months new traffic lights have been installed at the end of Valley Bridge, leading to Ramshill, in Filey Road and at Queen Margaret's Road roundabout.

Taxi driver Alex Hird was part of the campaign group who went to meet council leader Cllr Tom Fox and John Riby, Scarborough's head of technical services, to present the petition.

He said: "Customers are constantly complaining about the traffic lights. It is a permanent conversation in the car. I haven't had one person who agrees with it. And the customers I take who are tourists are saying they are not going to come back to Scarborough because of the amount of traffic, which is caused by the lights."

After presenting the petition, the group had a meeting with Mr Riby which gave them an opportunity to ask questions.

After the meeting, Mrs Taylor, said: "We still don't feel we have had our questions answered – they were just answered with more questions.

"So we decided we would give the system time to work, if indeed it does. We are going to give it six months to see how the system operates. Meanwhile we will be continuing to monitor the situation, do more research and speak to more people."

The group will meet with Mr Riby again after Easter.

Mr Riby said: "I'm also meeting some of the group to look at journey times across town and I'm also looking into some idiosyncrasies which the group point out at certain sites."

The borough and county councils are working together to implement the new scheme.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said: "The Scarborough Integrated Transport Scheme is a major construction project which could not have been achieved without the installation of traffic lights. The county council and its contractors do everything possible to keep disruption and congestion to an absolute minimum.

"Over the next few weeks, as the work progresses, the lights will be phased in to co-ordinate with the urban traffic control system, and motorists should soon then see an easing of the problems."