People in Oxford back the idea of introducing 20mph speed limits across the city.

The results of a survey published today show that almost two-thirds of residents taking part want Oxford to become largely a 20mph city.

It means a 20mph scheme is now likely to be approved by the spring and potentially introduced next summer.

The show of public support came as the Government signalled its readiness to give local transport officers new powers to cut speed limits to 20mph.

Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said he agreed with an MPs' report calling for lower speed limits to be introduced more widely.

Oxfordshire County Council ordered the local consultation after it unveiled proposals to spend up to £300,000 on installing 20mph road signs on residential roads in Oxford and some sections of A and B roads.

The proposals have fuelled fierce debate across the city.

More than 570 people responded by filling in forms and sending emails, with a further 400 people attending public meetings held across Oxford during September and October.

The results of the consultation were welcomed by safety groups, who pledged to redouble their fight for a blanket 20mph limit across the city, including all the city's main arterial routes.

Ian Hudspeth, county council cabinet minister for transport, said: "We now need to go away and examine in detail what people have said to us. It seems that the majority of people are in favour of what we have proposed.

"We have received a lot of comments, however, and we will analyse and consider whether we need to modify detail in places."

A second consultation should now be held early next year, with a 20mph scheme possibly going live during the summer.

James Styring, of the cycling group Cyclox, said: "It is great news that so many people support 20mph. But the response comes as no surprise. If you ask anyone what speed limit they would want on their street, you know what they will say. The real battleground will now be the arterial roads.

"From the cyclist's point of view, it would be good if all roads within the ring road had the same 20mph speed limit, rather than just residential areas and high volume roads."

Corinne Grimley Evans, joint co-ordinator of the Life Begins at 20 group, said the consultation had focused on County Hall's proposals and had not offered sufficient scope for people to show their support for extending 20mph to the whole city.

She said: "It is certainly an impressive result. But we fear the scheme proposed by the county will prove complicated to implement. We need something simpler."

Council transport chiefs are expected to be given new powers to impose 20mph speed limits following a report by the Commons Transport Select Committee.

MPs said that while the benefits of traffic-calmed areas had long been recognised by the Department for Transport, their introduction had been "slow and expensive" so far.

In his response to the report, Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said "This is part of our strategy. We have the safest roads in Europe but we accept that we can do better."

But Mark McArthur-Christie, director of the Oxford-based transport think-tank, Forward, said: "Low speeds are desirable in urban areas but these 20mph limits won't bring them about.

"It is a blunt instrument and a most ineffective way to get people to drive more slowly."