A probe into the traffic habits of villagers has been launched in a bid to make travel safer and improve the environment.

Transport consultants have been employed to carry out a survey by the Oakworth Urban Village Project.

The cost is being met from the £75,000 pot of cash the project was granted two years ago from the fund set aside by Bradford Council, backed by Bradford Vision, as part of a programme to target urban depravation.

City Hall councillor Peter Hill, who represents Worth Valley and is chairman of the urban village project, said: "The plan aims to improve the quality and variety of travel options for local people, by reducing the need to travel by car and improving public transport, cycling and walking options."

He said many of the problems were home-grown, in that most of the issues related to the volume of traffic generated by residents.

He added it did not help that the main road through the village was narrow -- originally built for horse and cart travel.

High on the agenda was the need to find a solution involving the dropping-off of schoolchildren in the Providence Crescent and Dockroyd areas, he said.

He said another area of concern was at the Co-op, in Station Road, where there was inadequate parking.

Cars cluttered the place and the problem was made worse when people visited the cash machine, he said.

The urban village project had already granted £10,000 towards improvements in Keighley Road and Colne Road, with the development of a new pavement and a give-way configuration to make it safer for pedestrians, he added.

Residents are being asked to fill in a three page survey entitled How do you Travel?

It seeks to find out where people travel to and from, when they start their journey and when they return home.

It asks people how they travel -- by car, walk, cycle, take the train or bus or a combination.

It wants to know how often people use public transport, especially the frequency of using the train, and urges people to say what improvements should be made to encourage them to use more public transport.

People are also being questioned about their shopping habits and how they access the shops.

Cllr Hill said all replies would be treated confidentially and only used by the project to develop a travel plan.

A spokesman for Richard Armitage Transport Consultancy said it was pleased that a number of questionnaires had been returned within a few days of them being posted out.

"We have not put a deadline on the survey but we want to report back on the findings as soon as possible," he said.

Richard Armitage, the firm's managing director, said: "We need a clear picture of current travel arrangements and people's attitudes and ideas about travel in the future."

He encouraged people to complete the questionnaire and return it to ensure the urban village project gained an accurate idea of what was needed.

People with queries about the survey should contact Kath Tierney on 0161 368 6603.