TRAFFIC spotters are getting on their bikes to give motorists up-to-date information on congestion caused by the A64 roadworks near York.

At the same time 28 new signs will be put up on roads in the area, warning drivers of the rush-hour delays they might expect on the dual carriageway around Copmanthorpe and giving them the radio wavelengths to tune into for information.

City of York Council's new up-to-the-minute traffic information service will operate in the run-up to Christmas.

Half-a-dozen staff are cycling along key routes, including the A64 itself, the A19 Fulford Road and the A1036 Tadcaster Road, to carry out regular assessments of traffic conditions.

They are phoning their information back to a central control point, and it is then emailed to local radio stations, so it can be included in traffic bulletins, and also to the Evening Press, for inclusion on our website www.thisisyork.co.uk.

Daily monitoring of traffic has been scheduled to cover the peak periods between 7.30am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm, from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays the system will operate between 10am and noon, and will also be give car park and Park and Ride capacity information.

The council decided to launch the service in the wake of this autumn's traffic chaos on the streets of York, caused largely by traffic diverting off the A64 because of the roadworks.

Councillor Dave Merrett, the council's executive member for planning and

transport, said: "York is a magical place at this time of the year and huge numbers of people come to visit us. This year we are trying to give them - and everyone who lives here - that little bit of extra help to get to the city with the least difficulty possible in the circumstances."

David Phillips, the Highways Agency's project manager, said: "This new information service for motorists is just one of a number of measures suggested at a recent joint consultative meeting called by the Highways Agency to help ease congestion caused by the junction improvements."

Most of the new signs will be located within a ten-mile radius of York, although some will be further away, including some on the A1 as far away as Doncaster.

The signs are currently being designed and made, and will go out within a few weeks.

Meanwhile, City of York Council representatives are due to meet with agency officials tomorrow to discuss efforts to reduce the future impact of the works.

A council spokesman said the meeting would focus on two issues: when in December access to the A1036 Tadcaster Road from the eastbound A64 can be improved, and whether the contraflow can accommodate two lanes of traffic in each direction when phase two starts in January.

Updated: 11:16 Wednesday, November 21, 2001