AS MORE new homes are built in Petersfield – at least 800 by 2028 is the target – so more traffic travels through the town.

But Petersfield’s roads were laid when the town was much smaller, and there were far fewer cars.

But as congestion grows, and road safety concerns surface, Hampshire County Council (the highway authority) says little can be done to ease the problem.

In an interview with the Post, the council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport Rob Humby, acknowledged that as towns like Petersfield expand, traffic would become more of an issue.

He also agreed that the road infrastructure hadn’t been built to cope with today’s traffic levels.

And he said that the county council has limited powers to object to new estates being planned on the grounds that they would generate more traffic, as planning permission is decided by the district council.

He added that the council had to work with developers to maximise road capacity and safety; for example by ensuring that new junctions onto new estates were paid for by developers.

And as more traffic passes through Petersfield, so concern about road safety increases, for both pedestrians and motorists.

But while acknowledging the concerns, Cllr Humby said successive cuts in funding from central government had reduced the council’s ability to respond to community concerns, and that

making roads safer that have a track record of accidents was the priority.

And he added that road safety issues often weren’t as clear cut as was first thought.

He said: “We have to focus our resources on where they are most needed and where they will be of most benefit.

“Managing traffic in a community can be divisive, what one group sees as a solution, another group may not think is the answer.

“And perception plays a big part in people views of how safe a road is.

“For perfectly genuine reasons people may think cars are speeding and when it’s checked that’s not the case.

“Or it may be thought a stretch of road is unsafe, but when highways engineers look at it there is no record of injury accidents or incidents attended by highways engineers, there are no problems with the road.”

HCC is responsible for all the roads in and around Petersfield except the A3.

Cllr Humby says that residents with concerns can contact him by email on [email protected]

But Petersfield campaigners trying to make The Causeway and Winchester Road safer, say it is unclear who is responsible for road safety.

The Causeway resident Wilhelmina Horner wants speed limits on the busy road reduced and traffic calming to be introduced.

And residents living on, and near, Stoneham Park off Winchester Road have petitioned for safety works, including pedestrian crossings.

Wilhelmina says it is unclear who is responsible for road safety, East?Hampshire District Council (EHDC) or the highways authority, Hampshire County Council (HCC).

HCC pays EHDC to carry out road safety surveys, but HCC not EHDC decides if traffic calming or pedestrian crossings might be needed.

The road surveys look at injury accidents, and the more accidents there have been, the more chance of HCC safety measures.

EHDC is only responsible for parking restrictions, new direction or tourist signage, and other minor road lining and signage schemes, said a council spokesman.

He added: “Amending speed limits, traffic calming measures and pedestrian crossings are the responsibility of the county council.

“When a request for traffic calming is received, EHDC carries out preliminary investigations, which includes analysing casualty data and local knowledge of traffic.

“If this identifies a common cause of accidents, the enquiry will be referred to HCC for more investigation.

“In respect of speeding, we can use a Speed Limit Reminder for up to a fortnight.

“This flashes up a speed limit warning and also provides us with data about traffic movements on the road.”

Contact the traffic team on e-mail [email protected], or by calling 01730 234298.