CYCLISTS in York are being short-changed, according to a group of angry residents.

York Cycle Campaign (YCC), a volunteer group which aims to provide a voice for York’s cyclists, delivered an open letter to City of York Council asking councillors to invest a greater share of its transport fund in the city’s cycle infrastructure.

The group says this would reflect the high proportion of cycle traffic in York.

A recent survey, carried out by YCC, suggests that cyclists constitute between a quarter and a third of the rush hour traffic crossing Lendal Bridge.

Meanwhile, the cycle counter on Millennium Bridge shows an average of more than 900 cyclists crossing every day.

YCC claims that investment in the cycle network over the next five years currently stands at seven per cent of the total transport budget, including the one-off £4.6 million investment to upgrade Scarborough Bridge.

The group suggests that funding could be diverted from other transport schemes to provide a network of cycle paths.

Kate Ravilious, of YCC, said: “Even when you account for multiple people travelling in cars and buses, cyclists make up over one quarter of the people travelling along major city centre roads. They deserve dedicated and continuous infrastructure to keep them safe.”

YCC’s letter, delivered last Sunday to coincide with UN World Bicycle Day, states that “York is often thought of as a cycle city”, but in reality its cycle network is inadequate.

Speaking about the removal of the cycle lane on Station Road earlier this year, Cycle Heaven MD Andy Shrimpton said: “The new layout is far more dangerous for cyclists and will only discourage people from travelling by bike.”

In response, Cllr Peter Dew, the council's executive member for transport and planning, said: “Recent evidence suggests we have the third highest cycle commuting figures in the country. We continue to invest millions of pounds into the cycle network. As the vast majority of our considerable spend on highways benefits all road users, it would be very hard to separate the funding streams that we allocate other than those expressly for cyclists.

“One of those which benefits cyclists and pedestrians is the Scarborough Bridge project.

“Its total budget is £4,528,000 which represents 11 per cent of this year’s transport capital budget. Of this, we’ve spent £373,000 on design work with a remaining budget of £4,155,000. “York’s Local Transport Plan is one of the most sustainable in the country with policies that prioritise and actively promote sustainable forms of transport.”

“An example is our Park & Ride sites which offer park and cycle as a option. Meanwhile our iTravel programme exists to actively encourage and assist residents and businesses to travel sustainably.

“Within the last year we have launched a walk and cycle forum to actively engage with sustainable transport users and to address their issues.

“We also provide free Bikeability cycle training to young people across York, and from April 2017 to March 2018 over 1,500 young people benefitted from this with our team visiting every school in York.”