TRAFFIC and parking issues continue to be a cause of concern in Fordingbridge.

Questions were raised by a resident during a meeting of Fordingbridge Town Council about what is being done.

The Shaftesbury Street resident said traffic was “getting worse” adding that “every couple of minutes juggernauts are going by rumbling, making a heck of a noise. The house is shaking. It is like living on the hard shoulder of a motorway”.

He said vehicles parking on the pavement caused obstructions for pedestrians trying to walk by and asked if signs could be put up about no parking.

“It is getting that people are parking everywhere opposite Tesco.”

He said this was also a problem near the post office adding: “People don’t complain because they think nothing can be done about it. People doing these things know they can get away with it.

“I know this is a problem in a lot of towns. I can’t see anything being done about it.”

“I'm getting afraid to cross the road,” said the resident, who was also worried about speeding. “You see people waiting to cross the road. They are waiting longer until they get a gap in the traffic to get across.”

He said lorry wing mirrors were "missing people's heads by inches".

“These roads weren't built for the amount of traffic we have," he added. "I have nearly been run over on the crossing,”

“All towns have this problem, I suppose. We can’t go on like this because someone is going to get hurt.”

Mayor Edward Heron said: “We have raised these issues a few times and tried to find solutions to them.”

He said previously size limits on vehicles had been discussed to try and reduce the number of those large vehicles but councillors had been told it was not possible.

Hampshire County Cllr Edward Heron said a survey had previously been done to look at where the HGVs were going but said most were accessing the Fordingbridge area.

"The answer to can we do something about them is 'no'. Because this is the route they can take through and there is no possibility of a by-pass."

But Cllr Heron did say they "could" look again at doing another traffic survey.

In terms of parking, he said he would speak to the enforcement team.

The town council will be carrying out a survey with residents. One of the items being considered is a 20mph speed limit.

Fordingbridge has been designated for at least 1,500 new homes with sites earmarked in New Forest District Council’s local plan.

Cllr Alan Lewendon felt the situation was “going to get worse” with the number of houses coming through "it is going to become chaos. I can see no answer”.

Plans are being developed as part of the neighbourhood plan, explained Cllr Mike Jackson, who said it “might make some difference” adding: “We are doing something."

Cllr Hale added: "We have got lots of ideas that we are trying to put forward where we can."

ALSO READ:

Call for action over Fordingbridge traffic and highways issues

Concerns over HGV traffic in Fordingbridge

 

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