Bradford is bidding for almost £93 million from the Government to improve transport and road safety across the district.

The bid follows a massive consultation exercise through questionnaires, household interviews, meetings with groups and other interested parties.

The Bradford package is part of the local transport plan drawn up by a joint team of officers from Bradford, Leeds, Kirklees, Wakefield and Calderdale councils and the Passenger Transport Executive.

The bid is for five years from 2001 to 2006 - and for the first year alone, Bradford is applying for nearly £23 million.

Major schemes include the completion of the Manchester Road guided bus scheme, Keighley bus station and other transport improvements in South Bradford.

Minor work will include traffic calming and speed management measures, including 20mph zones. Some are joint schemes with Metro to improve facilities for rail and bus passengers.

Other major schemes which the Council wants funding for include:

lA new city centre traffic scheme tied in with the proposed £200 million redevelopment of the Broadway end of the city. There are plans for vast shopping malls, two public squares and the demolition of Petergate (£4.656 million);

lSouth Bradford integrated transport scheme - a package of measures including improvements at M606/ Staygate and Manchester Road/Mayo Avenue junctions, a park-and-ride scheme at Odsal and cycling facilities (£2.12 million);

lStrengthening road bridges and other structures (£2.318 million):

lRoad safety schemes aimed particularly at school children (£1 million).

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Executive Member for the Environment, said: "This is a bid for funding to make improvements to the district's transport infrastructure.

"It balances the need to support the district's economy by improving key strategic links, with the need to improve public transport, cycling and pedestrian facilities."

If the local transport plan is approved by the Executive Committee next Tuesday it will be submitted to the Government by the end of July. The five councils will have to wait until December to find out how much their individual districts will receive.