HEREFORDSHIRE Council leaders will consider six options for the future of transport in Hereford at a meeting next month.

The cabinet meeting will consider the findings of the Hereford transport strategy review which was commissioned after the pause to all work on the planned southern link road and western bypass last year.

The review has looked at a combination of transport packages and a list of six options has been compiled.

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The first option would be to focus on active travel by improving the walking and cycling network around the city, make routes to school safer and encourage shared vehicle use.

This is deemed to be the option with the highest value for money rating when compared with all the other packages.

It would cost around £57.4m in capital funding to implement and the yearly revenue cost is expected to be £2.4m.

The second option would be to combine the focus on walking and cycling with an investment in buses. This could include an electric hopper bus service, prioritising buses and improving school transport.

This scheme would come in at a capital cost of £75.9m The total revenue cost of Package A + B is £5.9m pa.

This has a medium value for money relative to the other assessed packages.

The third proposal is to combine improvements to walking and cycling infrastructure with better buses and intelligent transport systems and demand management.

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The demand management schemes could include increases to parking traffics and a reduction of parking spaces in the city centre and a charge on businesses in specific areas who have more than 10 private car parking spaces.

This option has a total estimated capital cost of £79.9m while the yearly revenue cost would be around £5.5m. This scheme has a medium value for money relative to the other assessed packages.

The fourth option would be to build a western bypass which would include the southern link road and also encourage active travel and implement demand management measures to control traffic.

The estimated capital cost of this proposal is £261.4m while the revenue cost of this option is expected to be £2.1m per annum. This option has the lowest value for money of all the assessed packages according to the report.

The fifth possible scheme would see the construction of an eastern link road connecting Rotherwas with the Ledbury Road. This would also include active travel measures and demand management.

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The total capital cost of this scheme is estimated at £126.4m while the yearly revenue cost would around £2m. This option has a medium value for money relative to the other schemes.

And the sixth option includes an eastern river crossing which would connect Rotherwas with Hampton Park Road. This scheme would also include active travel and demand management measures.

This would cost around £113.4m in capital spending while the total revenue cost is expected to be £2.1m per year.

This proposal has a medium value for money relative to the other assessed packages.

Cabinet is expected to consider these options at a meeting on December 3 at 2.30pm.