MOVES to give cyclists new rights of way at the expense of motorists have been welcomed by a York cycling group.

The York-branch of the CTC said plans to redesign urban road lay-outs to give cyclists more space took a step further the work the city had already done to promote bike use.

The National Cycling Strategy Board, a government body, has unveiled a £150 million a year package of measures, which would see the introduction of cyclist-only traffic lights and a round-the-clock ban on cars in bus lanes.

Existing schemes to encourage pupils to ride to school could also be extended to health workers at hospitals, students travelling to university and college campuses and civil servants. Cycle lanes would be installed wherever space permitted.

The ideas are set to be published later this month and have already been passed on to the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling.

Paul Hepworth, branch secretary of the York CTC, said he believed the city was already proving a model for the rest of the country to follow.

City of York Council chiefs have been carrying out their own consultation exercise into cycling provision after the latest census figures revealed a decline in the number of journeys made to work by cycles.

Suggestions for improvement then included improving Gillygate for cyclists, covered cycle parking in the city centre and a route through the footstreets.

Mr Hepworth said: "York is something of a trailblazer in this respect. For example, we already have advanced stop lines for cyclists.

"We are quite well advanced and are setting an example for the rest of the country. It is true to say that there are one or two gaps in the cycle network which could usefully be filled and, obviously, we want the council to provide as many cycle lanes as is physically possible."

The overall aim of the proposals is to quadruple the number of people cycling in Britain by 2012. No time frame for a decision on the proposals has yet been announced by ministers.

A Department of Transport spokesman said: "The Government fully appreciates the value of cycling for improving health and reducing congestion and pollution."

Updated: 08:29 Tuesday, October 05, 2004