The City of York’s new Local Transport Strategy will prioritise people and set out the future for transport for the whole council area, including the city centre, suburbs, business, retail parks and villages. Next week Executive Members will be asked to agree to the new far reaching strategy that will shape the city’s travel networks until 2040.

The strategy has been formed following one of York’s most significant public consultations since 2010 and represents a step change in how York will approach the way in which residents, businesses, tourists and commuters move around and experience our city.

In the consultation, people from across York’s city centre, suburbs and villages gave their views on 10 policy areas and the results show that the current transport network is restricting what residents and businesses can achieve. One of the most significant results of the consultation was an increase in concerns of the social impacts of poor transport, including feeling isolated and not being able to access jobs, education or healthcare.

Councillor Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport said, “This shows how important this work is. People lie at the heart of this transport strategy. By freeing up the roads for those who need to use them we can bring greatly improved access to mobility for everyone and transform the feel of our city with greener, healthier and more people-focused public spaces. The benefits are huge and include longer healthier lives, greater resilience to climate change, stronger communities and improved well-being, and a thriving economy.”

In addition to existing concerns, York’s population is expected to grow by an extra 30,000 by 2040.  This growth comes at a time of opportunity, with the newly established York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority able to unlock over £100m of new funding for transport in York.