NEW and innovative initiatives are being developed to reduce the number of deaths on regional roads.

It all started with a sniffle.

The city centre will become a "cycling district", with bike riding incorporated into building designs and other planning decisions, and the council will use a NSW Government grant to trial pop-up bike lanes.

The two councils are working on a number of projects.

While the South Coast rail line to Sydney is one of the most sensible in terms of an upgrade, its benefits have been overstated - and improving connections within Sydney would have a bigger pay-off.

The government has called for tenders to project manage the development of a final business case.