A radical monorail system and a ban on vehicles from the High Street were suggestions at Colchester's Transport Forum.

The group was formed after Colchester Council and Essex County Council agreed draft transport policies to help cut pollution and congestion while balancing access and cost.

Now the people of Colchester have been given the chance to have their say through the forum group.

After an earlier meeting in November the group decided to split off into smaller working parties to discuss the issues which people wanted action on.

At Tuesday night's meeting the sub-groups reported on the ideas they had come up with.

The town centre group proposed a complete ban on vehicles be phased in for Colchester High Street, while the think tank group, formed to discuss more radical ideas, suggested the introduction of a monorail system.

This idea would see branch lines going to areas such as High Woods, and would use a park and ride scheme to complement it.

A park and ride scheme with seven stops around the town was one of the favoured options, although there was some discussion in the group over whether this would have a bad effect on the environment.

The forum heard consultants would now be looking at the issue of park and ride.

Three new working groups will be formed to look at walking and cycling, journeys to school and green transport plans for companies.

A further meeting of the forum will be held once the sub-groups have met to discuss these issues.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.