City of York Council today welcomed the Government's announcement of an extra £600,000 for local transport initiatives in York.

Councillor Dave Merrett, executive member for planning and transport, said he was delighted with the Local Transport Capital Expenditure Settlement from the Government which gives York a total of £6.1m for the 2002/2003 financial year.

Councillor Merrett said, "The settlement provides £600,000 more than expected for transport improvements in York. This is on top of the already very successful bid made by the city in its Local Transport Plan which was recognised as one of the best in the country."

The record award, an increase on last year, is based on the Government's assessment of the city's Local Transport Plan which the Government states is well above average for all other authorities submitting such plans.

The letter from the Government praises York's submission citing the development of targets and progress already made towards them. It also notes the city's commitment to disseminating best practice in the areas of cycling and walking for which York has been named a centre of excellence.

Councillor Merrett added that the extra money would allow faster progress to be made on the many transport improvements planned for the city.

He said, "Safety schemes and Safe Routes to Schools will feature heavily in the programme.

"Other priorities for the coming year are the Monks Cross Park and Ride, further improvements to our roads to assist public transport, implementation of the council's traffic congestion management system and schemes to improve routes for cyclists and pedestrians."

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