PLANS to promote active travel in Whitby have received support from town councillors.
Proposals to support the pedestrianisation of Whitby town centre and improve facilities for residents and visitors have been backed by the town council.
A motion by Cllr Jacqui Layman proposed that the authority to set “a budget of one per cent of precept, or £4,500, whichever is the lesser, to co-fund active-travel projects”.
However, councillors noted that North Yorkshire Council is “currently considering options for active travel”.
The motion was amended to include £4,500 in the budget with a wider remit as a Future Projects Fund.
The “rationale behind the motion” is that in order to promote active travel within the parish, the authority should co-fund facilities such as benches, cycle stands, cycle repair stations, and e-bike and electric wheelchair charging stations.
This would “complement the pedestrianisation of the town centre and improve facilities for residents and visitors”.
“Eligible projects must be sited within the parish and be intended for the benefit of the public,” the motion stated.
“Each individual project must be approved by full council and any grant given will be limited to match-funding monies raised by the applicants, up to a maximum of £1,000.”
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According to a tool developed by campaign group Transport for the North, coastal areas are at greater risk of “transport-related social exclusion”.
Earlier this year, campaigners said that a new plan to improve cycling and walking infrastructure in Whitby was essential to overcome “massive problems” with transport and health, campaigners have said.
Andy Jefferson, trustee of Whitby and Esk Valley Active Travel, said people were “taking their life into their hands just to get across roads” because of a lack of infrastructure.
