COULD this be Colchester’s public transport future?

The ambitious plans have been put forward by an architectural designer who is hoping to kick-start a serious discussion on tackling the town’s congestion, air quality and infrastructure problems.

Igor Barteczko’s early plans - labelled the Colchester Viaduct - show a tram-style monorail running between North Station, following Westway and Southway before running to the east of the town, through the Hythe, past Essex University and on to an area earmarked for a controversial garden village on the border of Tendring and Colchester.

 

The lifted-off-the-ground line would have three tiers; one for the trams, one for pedestrians and one for cyclists.

Mr Barteczko, who has worked at B3 Architects in Colchester, for a year, said: “A lot more of us will be using electric or self-propelled modes of transport in the future.

“It is important to think ahead and begin to imagine what our lifestyles and infrastructure might look like and how it might accommodate our future needs in a technologically advanced society.”

“Curbing pollution and emissions, making our infrastructure more sustainable and managing ourselves better is something that will positively impact our lives.

 

“Our future generations and people across the globe will also benefit from a healthier and more efficiently organised planet.”

The designer also called for a move away from “a fossil-fuelled economy” to “one that runs on renewable energy sources and strives for efficiency”.

He said: “Single use and single functionality are things we must consciously endeavour to eliminate in our way of life.

“The war on plastics is only the very beginning.

“My proposal and ideas challenge the way we think about commuting today and tries to provide a multi-functional alternative to thinking about commuting. I believe that we need to diversify our urban circulation spaces to accommodate our future human needs.”

Mr Barteczko came up with the rough plans after a meeting with Colchester Conservative group leader Darius Laws. They have not been costed.

Mr Laws said: “There is no doubt in the long run, something like this will be commonplace in many places. Even now, around the garden communities, they’re talking about rapid transit systems and how they could link up the new communities.

“I have been involved in briefings on the garden communities and they have really focused on roads but we have got to get beyond talking about roads as the only way forward.”

He said: “The plans are obviously ambitious but I do believe we need to start having a conversation about how we are genuinely going to tackle our problems in the future.”