THE National Railway Museum still hasn’t decided how local pedestrians and cyclists might best get into York city centre when its proposed new Central Gallery is built across Leeman Road.

Museum bosses had been intending to include its preferred option in the massive planning application for York Central, which was submitted to City of York Council last week.

But now they have revealed they are taking more time to consider all the options and gather more details on the likely costs before submitting it as an addendum later.

The museum went out to public consultation on all the possible options after residents had protested that their quickest route into the city centre could be blocked when the museum is shut by being sent on a detour.

The options included building a tunnel under the museum or a bridge overhead, both of which could be reached either by ramps or lifts.

Another possibility was to allow access through the gallery right through the night, under the watchful gaze of security staff.

A museum spokesman said yesterday that the York Central Partnership had submitted the outline planning application for the huge project to redevelop land behind York Railway Station last Friday.

The application included the creation of up to 2,500 new homes, ancillary retail spaces and offices as well as the new gallery, which will link the two sides of the museum which are currently separated by the road.

The spokesman said the submission and design guide outlined the principle of the museum setting aside land to deliver safe pedestrian and cycle connectivity.

“We are currently taking more time to consider all of the access options through the museum site presented at public consultations last month,” he said.

“We are gathering more detail on the costings for the various options, and we plan to submit these – as well as our preferred access option – as an addendum to the main submission in the next couple of weeks.”

More than a thousand people have signed a petition calling for a guarantee of a round-the-clock, accessible and safe route through the museum.