A KEY route into York city centre is set to be reduced to one lane as part of the York Central development, with vehicle movements controlled by traffic lights.

Project manager Tamsin Hart-Jones has revealed that the York Central Partnership considered closing ‘Marble Arch’ - the Leeman Road tunnel under the railway - to cars altogether at certain times of day, but this had been ruled out because of the impact it was calculated it would have on other parts of the congested highway network.

The closure would have meant York Central residents having to take a huge diversion via Water End and roads such as Holgate Road or Bootham to get to the city centre.

Instead, the partnership now wants to divide the road into one single carriageway for cars and buses, with vehicles going through in only one direction at a time under traffic light controls.

The additional space created on the other side of the road would be used to create a segregated two-way cycle lane as part of efforts to encourage sustainable forms of transport by residents living in the York Central site behind the railway station, where up to 2,500 homes may be built.

The small footway tunnel which runs parallel to the main road tunnel, which is currently used by both pedestrians and cyclists, would be restricted to pedestrians only, making it safer and more attractive for them.

The secondary footpath which currently runs along the side of the road through the tunnel would be removed.

Ms Hart-Jones said the proposals could "act as a constraint on vehicle flow, deterring rat-running through the site".

She was confident that intelligent traffic light controls could be used to adjust the amount of time for red signals through the day, to account for greater inward or outward flows of traffic.

This would prevent jams building up along Leeman Road and in the new public square being created through the scheme between the National Railway Museum and the back of the station.

She said other options, including leaving Marble Arch as it was, had been suggested during a consultation process but this scheme had emerged as the preferred option.

Other proposals within the York Central site for cyclists included a dedicated cycleway on the boulevard running through the site and an improved cycle link at Scarborough Bridge, she said.

For pedestrians, there would be footways on local streets, play streets, snickleways and foot streets, and pedestrian connections through the railway station and the National Railway Museum during opening hours. There would also be a new or improved footbridge over the railway lines to connect York Central with Holgate Road, using either Wilton Rise and Chancery Rise, with a ramp instead of steps to improve accessibility for people using wheelchairs or buggies.

There would also be a new bus hub to the west of the railway station with direct access to a new concourse.