CONGESTION at the "fire-station crossroads" could be cut by moving a busy bus stop, but only if the town council agrees to maintain a replacement. Whitehill Town Council wrote to the county council's highways team highlighting the traffic-flow problems caused by buses stopping at the shelter near the crossroads, by the old military fire station, on the Lindford Road. Hampshire County Council has offered to build a new shelter further down the road on the condition that the town council takes responsibility for looking after it. Town councillors also fear the location of the current wooden shelter, already a busy stop with schoolchildren and college students, could present more problems after the opening of a new housing estate being built behind it. But the town council already maintains four Perspex bus shelters in the town (in Hogmoor Road, Pinehill Road and Conde Way) and members are worried about taking on more costs. The shelters cost an estimated £60 per time to clean, and hundreds of pounds to repair when vandalised. At a town council meeting on September 11, David Williamson said he had no objection to the town council taking on the cost if it made the area safer for motorists and bus users, but Faith Thomas was afraid this might "open the floodgates" for other obligations. It was agreed that the council's decision to adopt a new shelter would hinge on the type of shelter proposed, as some designs would be harder to clean and more prone to being vandalised. The town council is waiting to see what type of shelter the county council suggests building.
