EVERYONE has an opinion about Lancaster and Morecambe's transport chaos and this Saturday the public will get the chance to have their say.

Lancaster Civic Society has teamed up with Transport 2000 to invite all local people to take part in a people's poll about the area's transport issues.

Between 10am to 4pm, anyone can turn up at a special stall in Marketgate to vote for their favourite transport options. There are five to choose from including:

"Better buses" - easy to get on, low-floor buses, more frequent bus services and dedicated bus lanes in congested areas (Estimated costs run to £8 million).

"Terrific trains" - 10 new local stations, including Bailrigg and Bolton-le-Sands, better more frequent services and new freight services to Heysham (Estimated cost £30 million).

"Safer streets" - better lighting, more landscaping and traffic calming, more cycle lanes and well maintained pavements (Estimated cost £5 million).

"City Roads" - devote a lane of the one-way system to buses and cycles only and build a new road through the east of Lancaster city centre (Estimated cost £12 million).

"Build a Bypass" - build a dual carriageway to link Heysham to the M6 and build a new bridge across the Lune (Estimated cost £55 to £90 million). Said Sue Holden of Transport 2000: "This will be a fun event to give everyone a chance to have their say about the transport improvements they would like to see for our local area. Our council will soon be bidding for funds to invest in local transport so it is important that they hear what people want."

Roger Frankland of Lancaster Civic Society said: "The Civic Society regards transport as a very important issue for the future of our city. We feel this exciting poll will highlight the issues involved."

See the Citizen next week for the results of the People's Transport Poll.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.