TIME is running out for readers of The Press to complete and return our petition supporting York's bid for cash to fund three new Park&Ride sites in the city.

City of York Council has submitted a bid to the regional transport board for around £26.5 million to finance sites at Askham Bar, the A59 at Poppleton, and at Clifton Moor on Wigginton Road.

If the bid is successful, the authority would likely introduce a 1,250-space site at Askham Bar, a 750-space facility at Poppleton, and a 500-space one in Wigginton Road.

Council leader Steve Galloway today revealed he believed the board would reach a decision on York's bid by the end of the spring.

He said he was confident the petition would have an impact on the thinking of the board.

We plan to deliver a dossier of signatures - which have been flooding into The Press since we launched our Access York petition last month - to the board in advance of its decision.

Coun Galloway said: "We have a few weeks left in which to establish the level of support for the Access York bid from the people of York.

"Signing the petition is a good way of establishing the level of support.

"I do believe that the Access York bid ticks most of the boxes, as far as the criteria for investment has been set by the regional transport board."

The Press's campaign - which has won the backing of all the main political parties in York - also supports the city's proposed autumn bid for up to £160 million for improvements to the congested outer ring road.

Coun Galloway said consultants were currently compiling a report for the city's transport chiefs.

This reportwould look at whether it would be effective to dual some parts of the ring road under such a scheme.

Under the authority's proposals, improvements would be made to certain junctions on the road.

Our campaign is also backing a Highways Agency bid for £7 million to pay for upgrades to the Hopgrove roundabout.