SOUTHAMPTON could finally be set for a park and ride to ease its traffic and pollution woes.

The Daily Echo can reveal that city council leaders are reviewing whether Southampton should get a park and ride scheme to help tackle the city’s air pollution crisis.

It was one of several recommendations made by an inquiry, launched to identify ways to improve the city’s air quality, which are set to be supported.

Southampton’s air quality is ranked among the UK’s worst, with 5.7 per cent of deaths linked to it while it costs the NHS in the city £50m each year to tackle health problems caused by it.

Daily Echo: Air pollution almost obsuring Itchen Bridge as seen from Southampton Water.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, a review was launched by city councillors into ways that it could be tackled, and their final recommendations received support from the council’s cabinet this week.

All of the recommendations put forward have received some support from council leaders, with options including the phasing of traffic lights and speed limits on “traffic hotspots” to reduce idling and improve flow now being worked on.

The council is also set to work with transport operators to reduce the emissions caused by vehicles standing or sitting idle with their engines running, while it is hoped cruise liners will be able to “plug in” to the city’s onshore grid instead of keeping their diesel engines running, something that would be a UK first.

Other recommendations include getting schoolchildren to plant hundreds of trees, encouraging the use of electric vehicles by offering two hours' free parking in city centre streets, and offering extra training for drivers of council vehicles.

It also includes the recommendation to look into a park and ride scheme – and a report shows that the council is already working with Highways England on a review of where one might go.

Its finding are expected next Spring Daily Echo: DIRTY AIR: A report by the Environmental Audit Committee this week warned that the Government’s failure to meet EU standards on air pollution is putting the health of UK residents at risk

City council leader Simon Letts said: “We’ve got far more cruise visitors embarking from here than we did five years ago or so when we last reviewed this, so it’s a good opportunity to look at whether it is feasible.

“The Portsmouth one was delivered with a fair amount of government cash that came with the demand for a bus lane, so there could be some issues, but we will certainly be investigating it over the next period.”

Inquiry chairman Chris Hammond, who has since joined the cabinet, said: “The park and ride is something that could be very beneficial for the city but financially it needs to stack up.”

The Conservative opposition’s environment and transport spokesman, Steven Galton, said the council should be “more ambitious” in bringing forward plans, saying technology to monitor driving styles in council vehicles was available last year, but only has a target date to be implemented of next year.

He said: “We welcome the investigation of park and ride potential but feel real long term planning needs to go in to road capacity and how traffic will smoothly enter the city from either the East, North or West along our main routes.”