by Maxine GordonTODAY is Local Transport Day - but environmental campaigners in North Yorkshire were not climbing aboard the bandwagon.

Across Britain, transport and environmental groups were hosting a range of activities to highlight the problem of traffic congestion as part of this fifth annual day of action.

But campaigners in North Yorkshire say they are sitting out today's event. They say it would be pointless to meet until the Government publishes its imminent White Paper on transport policy.

However, the City of York Council is organising its own event for next Saturday and hopes interested groups and concerned members of the public will attend the day-long conference at the Guildhall.

The aim of Local Transport Day is to persuade the Government to give local authorities the tools and cash to cut traffic levels in their area.

John Scullion, of Friends of the Earth and Local Transport Day spokesman for North Yorkshire, said: "We have decided to skip a year and do it again next year."

He added: "We are in a bit of a hiatus at the moment. We are waiting for the Government to produce its transport White Paper, that was the main reason to skip this year and wait until next year, by which time we could have a discussion on Government policy and have a clearer idea of where we are going."

He said local campaigners from Friends of the Earth, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Sustrans and Transport 2000 would still be meeting county and district councillors during the year to discuss transport issues.

The City of York Council's own Local Transport Day will be next Saturday, and local people will be able to quiz council official on transport matters.

The event will help the council draw up proposals for a bid for Government cash to fund transport programmes such as cycle lanes and safety work.

Workshops at the event will discuss the issues of managing demand for travel, public transport in York, road safety and improving access to the city for environmentally-friendly modes of transport.

Anybody wishing to attend should contact Mark Finer on (01904) 551328 for further details and a booking form.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.