Petition - Yellow lines at Walker Gardens, SO30

Thank you for your petition, and please accept my apologies for the delay in the response.

Parking and congestion in most schools is an issue at start and finish times, and this can be difficult to control through traffic management or engineering measures. All schools in Hampshire are encouraged to carry out school travel planning with the aim of improving road safety, encouraging walking, cycling, and exploring sustainable travel options to reduce school gate congestion. This is a good way of identifying where children and parents experience the most difficulty on their journey to and from school Modeshift STARS (Modeshift STARS - Travel Plan in Education, Business & Communities) is a national accreditation scheme for travel planning and the web link provides more information that you may find helpful.

Our School Travel Planning Team work closely with schools to consider alternative options. It is worth checking with the school for further information on their engagement with this initiative.

Unfortunately demand for new parking controls far outweighs our annual traffic and parking budgets. This has resulted in Hampshire County Council having to prioritise its limited resources towards parking issues where highway safety is severely compromised by inconsiderate parking. In addition, parking controls within residential areas can be very contentious and it is often the case that individual residents will have differing views regarding the need for changes, depending on their own individual circumstances and parking needs.

Whilst it may seem that parking controls merely consist of lines painted on the road surface with a few signs and posts, any new or amended parking restrictions must be underpinned by a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), the legal instrument that highway authorities use to implement enforceable traffic restrictions.  The processing of a TRO can be a costly and time-consuming process that involves the publication of legal notices and a period of public consultation. This means that even very minor parking changes can cost a significant amount to implement.

We appreciate you taking the time to contact us but I’m afraid, given the good road safety history, this location is a low priority for review and therefore we have no further action planned at this time.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Waste