MULTI-million pound plans for a high-tech traffic shake-up aimed at cutting congestion through a polluted city centre went on public display for the first time today (Thursday, May 21).

Durham County Council wants to install ‘smart’ traffic lights on the Leazes Bowl and Gilesgate roundabouts to cut rush hour delays and fumes on the A690 through Durham City.

Members of the public got their first sight of the £2.5m “Scoot” scheme proposals during a consultation event at Durham Town Hall this afternoon (Thursday).

Craig MacLennan, the council’s transport project manager, said more than 50 people had visited within the first two hours and feedback had been “positive”.

The traffic lights will be computer controlled, with the aim of cutting journey times on the A690.

Buses stopping under Claypath Bridge will no longer block the busy through-road and there will be improved pedestrian crossings, including on New Elvet Bridge, Gilesgate Bank and the east side of Gilesgate roundabout on the A690 towards Belmont.

Consultation continues until Friday, May 29 via durham.gov.uk/scoot

Details will then be finalised, before work begins on the ground at Gilesgate in September. The Leazes Bowl reconfiguration will follow early next year and be finished before the summer, but the Scoot technology will not be used until early 2017.

The project is not connected to the planned upgrade of nearby Milburngate Bridge but cannot begin until the £1m repair job is finished – a point highlighted by the long traffic queues that built up the last two Sundays as the council began preliminary investigative work.

The main Milburngate project begins on Sunday, July 12 and is expected to last seven weeks, during which the four-lane bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Councillor Neil Foster said: “These proposals should make journeys easier for everyone travelling to or via Durham City, improve the reliability of public transport services and have a positive impact on air quality for local residents.”

Rising levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant derived from vehicle exhausts, led to the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area in 2011, but council chiefs say the public should not be worried about the pollution levels.