Trial Scheme to Improve Safety

Rushmoor Council is asking motorists to be understanding during a trial one-way system in Park Road, Farnborough.

The two-month trial is aimed at improving safety in Park Road and adjoining residential streets. Residents in Park Road have been campaigning for years for something to be done to make the area safer for pedestrians, including school children, and motorists. Park Road is narrow, with lots of cars because few houses along it have garages or parking spaces. The footpaths are also narrow and often blocked by cars. There are four schools nearby and many of their pupils have to walk or cycle along Park Road every day. The problems have grown as more and more motorists have been using it as a rat-run to and from the Blackwater Valley Road.

Rushmoor and Hampshire councils did a detailed consultation with residents in the area. It was recognised that there was no easy solution but the one-way system appeared to be the best option. The trial will show whether or not the one-way system makes Park Road safer and what impact it has on adjoining roads and local motorists. The scheme is one way northbound to prevent tailbacks onto the Blackwater Valley Road. The County Council will be doing traffic surveys, beginning next week, so that the impact of the trial can be assessed thoroughly.The trial began this week and Tuesday(1st Feb) was the first full day. Signs have been in place for about a fortnight warning drivers of the scheme and advising them to seek an alternative route. Motorists are being encouraged to use Farnborough Road (A325) and Lynchford Road to avoid the residential parts of North Camp. Unfortunately, the trial was affected on the very first morning by a mammoth convoy of large army vehicles that travelled down the Blackwater Valley Road and then along Lynchford Road. The army out-riders, accompanying the convoy, held traffic back at junctions to let the convoy through. This caused serious delays for local motorists on their way to work.Cllr Roland Dibbs, Rushmoor's environment Cabinet member, said:

"Everybody recognises that something has to be done to improve safety in Park Road and local people have rightly campaigned for this for years. I hope motorists will be patient and give the arrangements a chance to settle down so we can see if they work".

Contact: Jim Pettitt, Head of Street Scene Services
Tel: 01252 398200

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