A FREIGHT rail link, American-style school buses and 'home zones' are just some of the measures included in a new £41 million package of measures designed to ease to the district's traffic chaos.

The proposals have been drawn up by Lancaster Green Party and have won the backing of Lancaster MP Hilton Dawson, who has described them as "an alternative to the unattainable western bypass."

The 'Transport Demand Management Strategy for Lancaster and Morecambe' by Prof John Whitelegg is a costed solution to improve the area's transport problems and will now go before Lancashire County Council.

Supporters of the new measures believe it's vital that they are put to central Government as soon as possible in a bid to win funding.

"The Western Bypass is now dead so the real work can begin," said Prof Whitelegg. "The proposals in this document represent a fundamental solution to the transport problems of the district and would really put Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham on the map. The solutions are tried and tested, they work and they will deliver a major reduction in congestion, pollution and traffic danger."

The proposals include a rail freight option to get lorries onto the back of shuttle trains right into the heart of the port of Heysham, school projects based on safe cycling routes and American-style school buses to get pupils out of cars for the journey to school. It is estimated that this alone will get rid of one in five cars in term time traffic peaks. Other measures include a free shuttle bus to connect the train and bus stations and the main shopping streets, a district wide transport ticket for bus and rail, new bus lanes, traffic priorities for buses, much improved rail services to Morecambe to make this a high quality commuter route (10 minute journey time) and "home zones" which are much improved residential areas with traffic treated as a guest and pedestrians and cyclists given priority.

Hilton Dawson said: "John's paper is an excellent first contribution to a debate hopefully leading to a bid which could transform our local transport system and improve the quality of life for everyone. He has costed his proposals at around £41 million. They need a great deal more discussion, they may not be accepted in whole. many of them could be incorporated in a bid for the only realistic bypass route - the northern option. However, they fit in well with current Government transport policy."

The MP is urging the County Council to adopt Prof Whitelegg's proposals as part of its Local Transport Plan and to apply to the Government for funding.

However, many Labour county councillors have been vocal supporters of the western bypass and have yet to be convinced that a non-road building alternative would be successful.

But Cllr Jon Barry appealed to the county councillors saying: "We now have a fantastic blueprint for the future of the district as a whole. The time has now come to put it into practice and we call on the County Council to adopt this list of measures and go for the whole £41 million. There's nothing to lose and all to gain."