TWO York activism groups have formed a coalition to call upon the council for improved cycling infrastructure in the city.

A 'Bring Your Own Bike' gathering, organised by Extinction Rebellion York and York Cycle Campaign, will take place tomorrow (Tuesday, November 22) at 5pm, which will see residents bring their bicycles to City of York council's Station Rise offices.

This gathering will call for improved active travel routes and infrastructure in and around the city.

At an executive meeting later in the evening, the council will vote whether or not to implement most of the planned active travel projects.

If they vote against them, they may return to the active travel budget made available by the government.

Rich, member of Extinction Rebellion York, said: "It wasn't long ago that York was a Cycling City. Since then we've watched investment dwindle and the infrastructure degrade.

"The council is keen to trumpet investments of tens of millions into the ring road, but during a climate emergency it can't even manage to invest one million in active travel.

"We cannot afford to bake-in unsustainable travel habits for a generation."

The City of York council told The Press that they are investing £36 million into a new Active Travel Programme to develop travel within the city, including facilities which prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.

They say they are currently waiting for sufficient government funding to fully deliver this scheme.

A spokesperson from City of York council said: "In a city such as York this inevitably presents a significant challenge when considering the extremely limited road space available.

"Implementing significant changes to the way people use our limited road space does require an equally significant financial investment.

“In York, cycling levels appear to have fallen because of a decline in commuting as a result of more working from home.

“While there appears to have been a decline in cycling levels in York since the pandemic, there has also been a similar impact on other forms of transport, with bus and rail patronage in York falling to around 80 per cent of their pre-Covid levels.”

Both Extinction Rebellion York and York Cycle Campaign say that they support the Reverse the Ban movement that seeks to ensure York remains accessible to car users with limited mobility.