A NEW multimillion pound cycling scheme with links to York could be granted a significant amount of funding this week.

The Scarborough Bridge Project, which will see a new, wider more accessible bridge across the River Ouse replace the older bridge, is one of two schemes to go before the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport committee on Friday.

The committee is being asked to approve £3.6 million of investment in new cycling and walking infrastructure.

The current Scarborough Bridge is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and hundreds of cyclists who currently have to carry their bikes up steep steps and wheel them across.

New ramps and stepped access will make the traffic-free bridge suitable for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, those with mobility issues and people with pushchairs and prams, and City of York Council has secured match funding to further the scheme.

Cllr Ian Gillies, City of York Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said: “The Scarborough Bridge scheme will help to open up a great scenic route from the train station to the heart of the city for residents, visitors and commuters.

“The new bridge will be over double the width of the current crossing providing a far more comfortable crossing for the 2,600 pedestrians and 600 cyclists who use it daily. Ramps at either side will also help to make the route accessible for people in wheelchairs and pushing prams.”

Cllr Keith Wakefield, WYCA transport committee chair, said: “I am pleased that through the Scarborough Bridge scheme, we would be extending that valuable work into York and making wholesale improvements to a route already popular with cyclists and pedestrians.”