RESIDENTS of western Alton delivered a clear message to East Hampshire District Council on Tuesday that a western bypass is needed to alleviate traffic problems in this area of the town.

The idea of a western bypass, which would run from the A339 to the A31 through Ackender Wood in order to ease congestion in the town, has been in the melting pot for a number of years.

The ongoing debate over the building of the bypass was reopened at EHDCÕs north west area community committee on Tuesday night.

The committee was addressed by Tony Duignan, a spokesman for the Chawton Park Road ResidentsÕ Group.

The group was formed when planning authorities decided that a new housing estate would be built at the site of the Treloar Hospital. One of the groupÕs major concerns is that the road network in western Alton cannot support the increased amount of traffic the new housing estate will bring.

The areas of most concern are the Butts Bridge junction, because it is unable to support steady two-way traffic and gets easily congested, and Chawton Park Road, which is used by some as a Ôrat runÕ from the A31 to Whitedown Lane, connecting to the A339.

Committee chairman Jerry Janes began the section of the public meeting by congratulating the many audience members for attending. He said that the purpose of the meeting was to act as an interface between the public and the authorities, and that this was only the second time that a meeting had been attended on this scale, the first time being about the closure of the Treloar Hospital.

Mr Duignan began by saying: ÒThe Chawton Park Road ResidentsÕ Group realises that we are just one of the seven areas in western Alton facing severe traffic problems. But we are fully prepared to work with any council necessary to achieve a satisfactory solution.Ó

The first issue raised referred to the Scott-Wilson Traffic Impact Assessment carried out as part of the planning process for the new Treloar Rise housing estate.

Particular attention was drawn to paragraph 6.11 of the report, which states that the Butts Bridge junction is considerably overloaded at peak times and that any development obviously exacerbates matters.

Mr Duignan asked what action is planned to tackle the problem, which would be made worse, not only by the Treloar Rise development, but also by the rise in HGV traffic due to the new materials recycling facility at Holybourne.

Chief planning officer Ian Ellis responded: ÒIndeed, the report did indicate that the Butts Bridge acts as a brake on traffic, and that it backs up and gets overloaded. However, the overloading is not seen as severe, and since the projected increase in traffic is not expected to exceed that of when the Treloar Hospital was in full operation, the situation is seen as acceptable.

ÒAs regards HGV movements on the A339, not many of the HGV movements will be coming down the A339 from Basingstoke or from the Shalden and Lasham areas. It is expected that most traffic to the new waste recycling plant will go down the A32. For this reason, we donÕt envisage a problem.Ó

Ideas for easing congestion, such as re-engineering the Butts Bridge to make it compliant to two-way traffic, then came from the floor. The ideas were noted and could possibly influence the county councilÕs upcoming transport consultation, which will be undertaken upon the completion of Alton Town Plan.

The issue of rat-running along Chawton Park Road was raised next, and the committee was asked what early action is planned to tackle the problem.

Mr Ellis said: ÒThe county aims to make the route longer, more winding and slower, because this will make the road less attractive to rat-runners. Motorists use rat-runs to make their journey quicker and more convenient.

If you cause more obstructions, the longer and less convenient the route, making them less attractive.Ó

One audience member highlighted that the idea of blocking the road completely had been raised in the past, and Mr Ellis said that this was just one of the options currently being considered by the council.

Another audience member then identified a link between the rat-running and the Butts Bridge congestion. He said that reducing the rat-running through Chawton Park Road would re-route the extra traffic onto the Butts Bridge junction, worsening the situation there.

It was then that John Deverill, member of the Alton Society and resident of Kings Road, raised the idea of the western bypass. He began by explaining exactly where the proposed road would go, and that residents in the area would be largely unaffected by noise pollution.

He said: ÒMany automatically think that roads spoil the beauty of the surrounding area, but in many cases they enhance it, and allow more people to see the beautiful countryside as they drive through it.

ÒThe western bypass would solve all of the problems raised tonight by alleviating the stress on the Butts Bridge junction and offering a quicker, easier alternative to Chawton Park Road for those travelling between the A339 and the A31.Ó

Mr Janes said that it was not within the committeeÕs remit to promise a western bypass on the night, but councillor Tony Ludlow asked that a straw poll of audience members be taken as a rough gauge of local opinion on the key issues.

The audience voted on two issues: whether or not they wanted a western bypass, and whether they wanted Chawton Park Road to be blocked completely to prevent rat-running.

The audience votes were overwhelmingly in favour of both notions, with only a couple of people voting against in each case.

Mr Duignan concluded: ÒWe believe the only sensible solution to the traffic problems in western Alton is a western access route. The council must show leadership and steadfastness in fighting the bureaucracy of other authorities in pursuing the matter.Ó

Mr Janes responded by again thanking the audience for their input, and issued this advice: ÒPeople power is an awesome thing and must be prolonged. As a group, the effort should not be left on the shoulders of a select few.Ó