A MULTI-MILLION pound package of transport improvements including new park-and-rides and workplace car parks in Oxford will be submitted to Oxfordshire County Council.

But the county’s new draft transport plan, setting out measures to ease congestion across the county from next year to 2030, may take many years to come to fruition, as County Hall struggles to find money even for essential road maintenance work.

The local transport plan has already gone through five rounds of consultation. But only schemes largely paid for by developers look to have any real chance of progressing in early years of the plan, with motorists facing the prospect of worsening congestion in and around Oxford for years to come.

Only Bicester, where an eco settlement is being created north-west of the town, and the so-called Science Vale, incorporating Didcot, Wantage, Grove and Harwell, are expected to attract funding for major transport schemes.

The draft transport blueprint sets out the priorities for Oxford, towns and rural communities. The document identifies Oxford’s “Eastern Arc” as the part of the city that should see the bulk of future development, while having the greatest need for anti-congestion schemes.

Expanded park-and-rides are listed as crucial, with possible park-and-rides at Eynsham and Bicester, along with others at locations “more remote from Oxford”.

The report warns: “Two of the city park-and- rides are regularly full and two others are approaching their capacity. Planned and possible developments in the city are likely to have a significant impact on the operation of the road network — there are expected to be particular pressure on the ring road, especially at Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts and on the A34.

“Without a strategy to reduce or prevent the increase in traffic in Oxford and on the approaches to it, congestion will become increasingly severe, damaging the economy, environment and quality of life of people travelling to and around the city.”

The plan contains a series of bus-priority measures.

Ian Hudspeth, council cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said: “The county council is legally required to prepare a Local Plan. But for the first five years of the plan’s timescale we will probably be looking at the maintenance of the current network rather than any expansion.”

He warned people would find that transport schemes only came to areas that were to get substantial development as well, such as Bicester and the Science Vale expected to see a total of 18,000 homes and 12,000 jobs up to 2026.

The report sets out the importance of upgrades to Oxford and Bicester Town stations going ahead, along with the Chiltern Railways Evergreen 3 Project and the East-West Rail link from Bicester to Milton Keynes and Bedford.

Little hope is, however, held out for two Abingdon schemes — the creation of a new junction on to the A34 at Lodge Hill and a second Thames crossing in the town to relieve congestion are both said to have popular support. But the report says: “Funding for these schemes could only be available through Government grant or if significant contributions from developers were available. Given that there is not a substantial amount of growth planned in Abingdon in 2026, neither central government nor developer funding is likely to be available.”

The plan also commits to introducing 50mph speed limits on all single carriageway rural roads during the course of the plan.

The public consultation on the draft plan will run from October 4 to January 9, 2011.