Plans for the long-term future of transport in Cumbria have been approved at a full meeting of Cumbria County Council in Kendal today.
The Local Transport Plan for Cumbria sets out the county council's vision and objectives for transport in the period 2006 to 2011.
The plan, which has been drawn up with the help of a raft of organisations across the county, proposes transport policies and projects which tackle issues such as safety, accessibility, congestion, air quality, health and crime and disorder, as well as highways management and maintenance.
Tim Heslop, cabinet spokesman for transport and infrastructure, said: "This is a realistic view of what can be acheived within government guideline budget allocations for transport.
"The core objectives are to provide an integrated transport network that supports a dynamic, diverse and sustainable local economy. We aim to do this by improving access to jobs and services with highway improvements in all areas of the county, we will work to improve journey times between Sellafield and the M6 to mitigate the impact of nuclear decommissioning, and lobby for improvements to journey times for bus and rail passengers and for freight on the West Coast mainline and try to generate more traffic through the Port of Workington.
"We aim to provide better access to employment, healthcare and education, provide cycle training and cycle parking and better integration on public transport. We will introduce Smart Transport Ticketing throughout the county and we will continue our efforts, through the Safer Roads for Cumbria Partnership, to cut the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.
"These are ambitious aims but they are important for the environment, the economy and the people of Cumbria and the means for achieving them are set out in the local Transport Plan."
The LTP 2006/7 must be sent to ministers at the Department for Transport by March 2006 The plan can be seen at http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/roads-transport/transportplan/default.asp
Preparation of the plan has involved extensive public consultation and engagement with communty groups as well as detailed coordination with a host of agencies and authorities including primary care trusts, the county council's local committees, district councils and national parks, economic development and regeneration bodies, Cumbria Tourist Board and groups representing the interests of people with mobility issues.