A 3,000-SPACE temporary park-and-ride scheme at Budmouth Technology College could be one of the key transport measures for Weymouth and Portland's 2012 Olympic programme.

The site - which could form part of up to 15,000 borough park-and-ride spaces - is already being discussed by Budmouth and Dorset County Council, which is masterminding an £18 million programme seeking ways to improve transport across the borough.

Weymouth relief road project manager Matthew Piles said: "We have an opportunity to provide a legacy for the people of Weymouth and Portland, but it is going to take an awful lot of work."

People will be encouraged to get out from behind the wheel of their car and either walk, cycle or use public transport with park-and-ride a crucial part of efforts to make the 2012 Olympic sailing events at Weymouth and Portland as environmentally friendly as possible.

He added that measures include three roundabouts that are hoped will unlock the choking queues facing traffic from King Street to Boot Hill.

The first roundabout with landscaping would replace traffic lights at the Queen Street junction with King Street while the second would see a vastly bigger junction system where the Swannery Bridge meets King Street.

The third roundabout proposal embraces Boot Hill and the corridor from North Quay to Rodwell to give public transport priority.

The new Chickerell link road is working very well, he said, so another transport programme idea involves whether all the traffic lights from the Granby Industrial Estate to Lynch Lane are needed now or whether some could be scrapped and replaced by a roundabout or a simple junction.

Traffic flows could also be improved by switching traffic priorities near All Saints Church at Wyke Regis. This would allow the tricky right turn into Portland Road to become a through route for traffic with the current junction moving a few yards to control Wyke Road traffic.

Mr Piles also said that other transport measures being looked at range from bus stop screens for passengers to get accurate and reliable service information to similar screens for car park management so drivers know how many spaces there are and which car park they are in.

He added: "A key consideration is public consultation on every section, every site, every proposal and every project so local residents and businesses can make their views known.

"When measures are finally carried out it will need to be done in a way which allows Weymouth and Portland residents to carry on with their normal lives with as little disruption as possible."