NEW calls have been made for major improvements to one of the region's heaviest-travelled roads.

The urging follows news that £2.5m is to be spent on improvements to the busy A64 Leeds to Scarborough road - work which has been criticised as "a patchwork job."

The Highways Agency is to spend the money on upgrading bus laybys, creating a new cycle path and resurfacing the junctions at Barr Lane, Claxton Hall and Hazelbush.

Around £350,000 is to be spent in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council on improvements to bus laybys between York and Scarborough. The cycle path is part of an on-going agency project to provide a continuous route.

However, county councillors David Lloyd-Williams (Norton) and Mike Knaggs (Malton), who each stressed the importance of upgrading the A64 at last week's county council meeting at Northallerton, said it was time for a more ambitious scheme.

Coun Lloyd-Williams said: "This money is only tinkering at the edges and is not going to solve the A64's problems. While it is welcome, it will not benefit road users and people's lives and will not address the problem of coping with the volume of traffic."

His sentiments were echoed by Coun Knaggs who said: "The money the Highways Agency is to spend will do nothing to reduce the number of fatal accidents on the A64.

"It is my intention to keep up and increase the pressure for action. How many road deaths must we have on this road before something is done?

"It seems we are in something of a competition with other major roads. This money is only doing a patchwork job on the A64.

"It is time the Highways Agency and the Transport Minister looked again hard at the A64."