Petition - Improve road safety at Alderwood Junior School, Aldershot

Thank you for submitting the recent petition in which you request that parking restrictions are implemented at the junctions of Wilson Road/Haig Road and Clive Road/Haig Road.

We receive many requests to review parking restrictions across the county daily and, to prioritise competing schemes for change, each location reported to us is considered using Hampshire County Council’s road casualty reduction led criteria for further review. The criteria used considers accident injury records, the presence of vulnerable road users, congestion, environmental factors, and the public support we have for change.

Despite local perceptions, the safety history on Haig Road has remained good in relation to many other routes in the County and, to date, there has been no justification for further parking restrictions beyond those already in place. However, we have considered the highway safety concerns you have raised and are able to include parking restrictions at these junctions within a proposed amendment to the Aldershot parking consolidation order that is being prepared for other works being carried out in the local area.

Any new or extended parking restrictions require implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which is the legal instrument that local authorities use to implement enforceable restrictions on the highway. The Traffic Order process involves any proposed changes being formally advertised, giving local people the opportunity to support or object to proposals. It cannot be assumed that a proposal to introduce parking restrictions will be universally popular. Past experience has shown that parking controls within residential areas can be very contentious and often generate high levels of objections, particularly in locations where off-road parking is limited, therefore I cannot guarantee that any changes will be made soon.

I will ask the Traffic Team to review the condition of the existing parking lines and arrange for any worn or damaged lining to be remarked to ensure that the restrictions are clear to drivers. I will also ask that our Parking team ensure that the area is visited by our Civil Enforcement Officers to enforce the existing parking controls in the area.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Adams-King
Executive Lead Member for Universal Services