YOUR coverage of the possibility of a new footbridge across the River Ouse has caught the imagination of the public, but also raised concerns regarding how it might be paid for.
I would like to reassure your readers that funding for this project will not be at the expense of other services or road-safety schemes in the city.
The purpose of the bridge, in the Local Transport Plan since 2000, is to provide a much-improved pedestrian access into the heart of the city centre from the west side of the river, and in particular for pedestrians entering the city via the railway station.
If the bridge is feasible, we will make a bid for Government funding for the project in the second Local Transport Plan, which runs from 2006.
We would only be able to spend the money on the bridge - it will be ringfenced specifically for that purpose. If we do not bid, we will not receive the money to use on the bridge, or any other project. The success or failure of the bid will not prejudice other requests to central Government for funding.
Mike Tavener,
Project manager, structures and drainage,
St Leonard's Place,
York.
Updated: 10:39 Saturday, September 27, 2003
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