A YORK election candidate wants to see ways of using the city’s Park&Ride sites as a base to encourage more people on to their bikes being explored.

Laura Parrish, who is standing for the Conservatives in the Heworth Without ward at next week’s City of York Council poll, believes “park-and-cycle” schemes backed by the authority could help prevent the heart of the city becoming gridlocked.

She said it could also open the door for bike businesses to set themselves up at York’s existing Park&Ride facilities, as well as the new sites which the authority will create if it succeeds in securing Government funding for the first phase of the Access York scheme, and provide the service.

The park-and-cycle initiative involves commuters and visitors leaving their cars on the edge of the city, hiring a bike on either a short or long-term basis and using it to complete the rest of their journey, and Laura said York’s current network of cycle lanes would help to make such a scheme work.

She said: “I’m particularly interested in exploring opportunities for these facilities and for lockers where bikes can be held to be installed at Park&Ride sites.

“A chance for residents and commuters to use these car parks as a base from which to cycle into York would encourage cycle use, because many cycle lanes from Park&Ride facilities already exist.

“This would also create a chance for small businesses, and perhaps a franchise, to set up bicycle rental facilities at the Park&Ride sites. It would be a win-win situation because it would reduce congestion and the cost of this sort of scheme to the council would be minimal.”

Laura said a park-and-cycle incentive could strike a chord with people who feel a cycle journey from their homes to the city centre is too long and who currently use their cars for the full trip.

She said: “We need to give people the opportunity and the ability to lead healthy lifestyles, and schemes like this could also benefit tourists as well as commuters.

“I believe it’s something which should be considered and, if I’m elected, I’d look forward to having the chance to look into creative ways of addressing some of our leisure and transport needs.”