There may be some new hope that cyclists will get a better deal from the new administration which is taking over at West Offices this week.

Both the LibDems and the Green Party promised better road surfaces in the City.

Potholes represent a particular hazard for cyclists.

There is talk of an emergency budget in June which would present an opportunity to rejig transport priorities.

We hope so.

In the slightly longer term, the Council needs to take a fresh look at its off road cycle network.

One notorious section in Acomb comes to a dead end in the middle of Front Street with no one apparently able to decide how to safely continue the route towards the Askham Lane and Foxwood areas.

In other areas stop gap measures, introduced 20 years ago, are still in place. These include the makeshift metal channels which were installed on the approaches to several railway bridges. They are supposed to make it easier for cyclists to push their machines up steep access stairways.

In reality, it is often easier to carry the bike or – more likely – just take a longer and possibly more hazardous route using the ordinary road network