A radical package of measures is needed to ease Southend's traffic crisis, it was claimed today.

Transport operators, businesses and residents have drawn up a new wish-list aimed at reducing congestion on the borough's roads.

The calls emerged after Southend Council launched a new partnership with the single aim of getting the town moving.

Suggestions include:

A park and ride service to the town centre

l Cycle facilities in town with racks and showers to tease people out of cars

Limiting parking near schools

Zero tolerance on illegal parking

Charging to use some roads

Priority lanes for buses

Review of car parking costs

Removing build-outs at the corners of some roads

The next stage will be to spearhead detailed proposals, within the resources set down by the council.

A partnership statement said: "Despite the many different interests involved in the partnership, a number of common themes have emerged as to what action should be taken to try to resolve Southend's transportation problems.

"Some of the solutions outlined may provide added benefits, such as segregated cycle lanes, providing quality cycle routes and also safe routes to school.

"A range of solutions may together provide the real opportunity for achieving a major improvement in public transport provision and a shift away from using the car.

"Some solutions, however, have the potential to be in conflict with one another - for example, improving the flow of traffic on main routes could detrimentally affect road safety or the viability of businesses along that route."

These issues will have to be studied closely, the statement added, pointing out that improved transportation was vital to the regeneration of Southend.

The new calls for action came just weeks after Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor stepped up his bid for a new Southend outer by-pass, backed provisionally by party leader William Hague.

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