Milestone for £22m schemes to tackle city’s traffic tailbacks

THE final designs for new congestion-busting park-and-ride sites to combat York’s notorious traffic tailbacks are due to be signed off in the hope of securing millions of pounds from the Government by the end of the year.

Two new schemes costing a total of £22m are being planned to bolster York’s existing park-and- ride network which has been key in containing traffic levels and the number of vehicles heading into the city centre.

Senior civil servants at York Council have admitted that a successful park and ride service is “the cornerstone” of the city’s transport strategy and the current plans to expand the network have been in the pipeline for nearly a decade after they were first drawn up in 2003.

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Blueprints for the new developments at Poppleton Bar and Askham Bar are now being finalised before the projects go out to tender this summer to finalise the exact cost. The Government has agreed in principle to finance the bulk of the costs, although final approval still needs to be gained.

The financial masterplan will need to be sent to Westminster to glean Ministerial support, and it is hoped that a decision will be made by December. If successful, construction work could begin in February next year before the new sites are finished in March 2014.

York Council’s cabinet member for city strategy, Coun Dave Merrett, is expected to approve the design plans for the two schemes on Thursday to allow them to go out to tender during the summer and autumn.

Coun Merrett said: “This is an important step forward as it will allow us to finalise exactly how much the park and ride schemes will cost once the tendering process has been completed.

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“The new schemes are vital and we are committed to freeing up the city’s roads from congestion to get York moving. Going out to tender will be a key moment as it will allow us to hopefully secure the necessary funding from the Government.”

The city’s existing park-and-ride network has been instrumental in helping prevent congestion on York’s roads to get commuters, shoppers and tourists into the city centre.

But it is recognised that there is a massive demand for extra facilities, as the existing Askham Bar site has been operating at its maximum capacity for several years.

The proposals would see the Askham Bar facility relocated and doubled in size, with a new site introduced on the outskirts of York at Upper Poppleton. This scheme will need a multi-million pound upgrade to a roundabout on the A59, which is already a major bottleneck for traffic.

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The Yorkshire Post revealed last month that the council had decided to push ahead with the purchase of land for the two park and ride schemes.

Senior councillors had faced a pressing need to make a decision on buying the land for the two developments as the options for the purchase expired on March 31. It is understood that landowners were unwilling to extend the deal under the original conditions.

The exact cost for how much the land is to be purchased has not been disclosed as it is deemed to be commercially sensitive.

But despite the progress which is being made, the proposals have been hit by the Government’s austerity drive.

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The Yorkshire Post revealed last year that York Council was among several of the region’s local authorities which had been forced to scale back long-awaited transport schemes in the hope of securing a share of the Government’s £700m funding pot.

The council, which was bidding to create three new park-and-ride sites, was forced to ditch proposals for one of the schemes at Clifton Moor.

The Government backed the revised proposals - on the condition that the financial plans are sound - in November, and is due to pay about 70 per cent of the overall cost. The council has stressed the third park and ride scheme at Clifton Moor could be revived if funding is secured.

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