WORCESTER desperately needs to build its next park-and-ride site to reduce traffic pressure on the Bromwich Road says a former city mayor.

Derek Prodger said Worcester's traffic flow could be helped dramatically if a park-and-ride venue was introduced which would cut congestion on one of the busiest roads into the city.

Second site

He told fellow councillors at a meeting of Worcestershire County Council's environment and sustainability panel that the second site should be in the Callow End, Powick, or Rushwick areas to help prevent rush-hour jams.

"The traffic from this area is getting too heavy," he said. "I know Bromwich Road's usage is around 13,000 vehicles a day. It would be a tremendous service for the people."

He added that the traffic stretching down Bromwich Road is often around a mile long and asked Jeff Romanis, head of the county highways, transport and waste services, to calculate the figures of traffic using this route into the city.

Mr Romanis said his officers would look into the matter, but added the sites had been researched and it had been decided a site cutting down traffic on the Bromyard Road was more feasible.

In a report to the panel he said Worcester West, serving approaches from the A44 (Bromyard, Leominster), A4103 (Hereford) and A449 (Malvern), and a site for Worcester south-east reducing congestion from the M5, A44, A38 and A422, would be more use to the public.

Chairman of the panel Margaret Wills said she believed park-and-ride was a success so far, and despite the likelihood of incurring a £261,000 deficit this year the council should press ahead with expansion.

The panel agreed the council should continue its commitment to park-and-ride. The Worcester North park-and-ride site opened in Perdiswell last April, and is the first of three sites proposed for the city in the county council's local transport plan. In the first six months of operation 40,944 tickets have been sold.