Cash for a £50,000 pelican crossing upgrade in Cavendish Street has been granted by Keighley Area Committee.

Members agreed to fund the improvements, designed to reduce town centre traffic jams, following an approach by Keighley Transport Forum.

The existing crossing, at the junction with Lawkholme Lane, will be modernised and split into two, with a pedestrian refuge in the middle of Cavendish Street.

There will also be a ban on right-hand turns into Lawkholme Lane from Cavendish Street, and right-hand turns from Lawkholme Lane into Cavendish Street.

Bradford Council highways engineers hope to design the pedestrian refuge so it physically stops drivers being able to turn illegally. The area committee, Bradford Council's local decision-making body, last week allocated £30,000 from its highways budget to add to £20,000 previously earmarked for the crossing.

Detailed plans will be drawn up and people will be given a chance to comment before the area committee gives the final go-ahead. The crossing forms part of a package of congestion-cutting measures put forward by the Transport Forum, which brings together bodies including district and town councils, police, businesses and bus firms.

Cllr Andrew Mallinson, chairman of both the area committee and Transport Forum, hoped there would be no objections to the planned improvements.

He said: "I would hope people will see the benefits of the scheme and the increased safety, and that it will ultimately be a solution to one of the congested areas of the town."