Work is set to start on a £315,000 scheme which will reduce traffic in Bradford city centre.

The project, beginning on Monday, is the latest phase of a Bradford Council rolling programme which has included building Centenary Square and Centenary Park and improving Bridge Street.

It will steer traffic away from the centre with a new one-way traffic system in Broadway and Bank Street and provide wider footpaths and better crossing facilities for pedestrians.

Other features include a continental-style pavement caf area in Broadway, a giant draughts board at the corner of Bank Street and Broadway, and special facilities for cyclists.

Councillor Latif Darr, chairman of the transportation, planning and design committee, said: "This scheme continues our aim of making the city more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly while maintaining essential access for deliveries, taxis and disabled people.''

One-way traffic in Broadway and Bank Street will reverse the current flow from the Bridge Street direction and remove a through traffic route from Sunbridge Road via Broadway to Hall Ings and Leeds Road.

Parking bays will be available for deliveries, limited waiting, taxis and disabled drivers. Buses currently using Bank Street will be re-routed to Bridge Street.

A contra-flow cycling lane in Broadway from Centenary Square to Bank Street will take cyclists to the edge of the pedestrianised section where they can secure their bikes to new stands while they shop.

Paved pedestrian crossing strips and new traffic signals at the junctions of Bridge Street and Broadway and Bank Street and Hall Ings are also included in the scheme which will take about 16 weeks to complete.

Traffic will be encouraged to use Godwin Street, Princes Way and Hall Ings to minimise disruption while the work is going on. Access to Broadway and Bank Street will be maintained for servicing and deliveries, but entry and exit routes will change as the work progresses.

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