WORK is about to start on Salisbury's second park-and-ride site.

The new site, at Wilton, is part of a major project to tackle Salisbury's traffic problems.

The Salisbury transport plan, which aims to improve environmental and traffic conditions in the historic city, includes provision for five park-and-ride sites.

It is a strategy that aims to reduce congestion and reliance on the car by providing genuine alternatives and rerouting traffic away from the city centre.

The first park-and-ride site, the Beehive, opened in March 2001, and the service has since carried more than 550,000 passengers.

Work at Wilton is being carried out by Ashridge Construction, on behalf of the Salisbury joint transportation team, a partnership between Wiltshire county council and Salisbury district council.

Construction work starts on May 10 and is expected to be completed in early 2005.

The site, off The Avenue, will accommodate 420 car park spaces.

There will also be a waiting room and toilets on site, built with traditional materials, and a planting scheme.

Expected opening times are between 6.45am and 8pm Monday to Friday, and between 7.15am and 7.30pm on Saturdays.

Dennis Brown, chairman of the Salisbury joint transportation committee, said: "Park-and-ride will give commuters an alternative to driving their cars into the city centre, by providing long-stay parking outside the city and making it convenient for commuters to complete their journey by bus.

"This will reduce traffic on the main routes into the city, improve air quality around Wilton roundabout and free up short-stay parking in the city centre for shoppers, which will be good news for the city's traders."

Fleur de Rhe Philipe, vice-chairman of the joint transportation committee, said: "The park-and-ride site at Wilton is part of a wider strategy to reduce the impact of traffic on Salisbury city centre.

"Reducing traffic in the city centre will make it a much more attractive place to visit, bringing both economic and environmental benefits.