A PIONEERING traffic-calming project in Petersfield town centre has been lauded as a major success story by English Heritage. As part of the Save our Streets campaign, the town has been cited as an example of how to reduce street clutter, improve street design, and reinforce the distinctiveness of urban areas. Traffic calming in High Street, College Street and Dragon Street were praised for their success in remedying high-speed traffic levels and developing a pedestrian-focused environment. The traffic-calming techniques implemented in Petersfield included narrower roads with courtesy crossings, pinch points, and junction modifications. Introduced in 1992, the project saw improvements to Dragon Street three years later, College Street in 1996, and the High Street in 2003, with the elements of the scheme working to enhance the town. Graham Steaggles, English Heritage's historical areas adviser for the South East, explained what made Petersfield special. He said: "Petersfield features in our top 10 practical case studies as it is an example of how to deal with traffic calming without humps and bumps. "Around the cenotaph there is much indecision for vehicles. They have to think about what to do, but there is a 20mph speed limit in place. "Normally in such areas you will see yellow lines in the road, but these are not seen in Petersfield. "Along the High Street, car parking spaces are clearly identified without the need for double yellow lines and a substantial amount of clutter and road signs. "There are also pedestrian courtesy crossings in the High Street, and while they could be indented further into the road, it seems to have worked very well, and all without white and yellow paint." English Heritage has published Streets for All: Practical Case Studies, aimed at encouraging more councils and highway departments to follow the shining example of 10 outstanding 'street-scape' projects from across the country. Dr Andy Brown, the South East regional director at English Heritage, said: "The response to our Save Our Streets campaign has been tremendous. "Lots of councils up and down England are keen to do the right thing, though street improvement schemes can take a long time to achieve. "The councils responsible for the case studies we are highlighting today deserve congratulations because they have carefully worked out the procedures for minimising clutter, using existing regulations and guidance, and they are prepared to share their knowledge with others. "We know that other councils will be inspired by their example and that many are currently working on good schemes of their own."