FEARS for the lives of pedestrians and drivers on Kings Road, Haslemere, have prompted residents to form an action group to fight for desperately needed improvements.

The road near Haslemere railway station, which is constantly clogged with commuters' cars, has been branded one of the worst in the town.

The road is used by cars and lorries as a rat-run to avoid the congestion in Wey Hill. Kings Road residents are also concerned about the dangers of parking on the bend close to a pedestrian bridge across the railway line.

Now Kevin Hall and Steve Musco from Kings Road are hoping to gain the support of local people to get something done to improve the parking and proposed development situation after sending out letters to residents.

More than 10 people have said they want to get involved.

Mr Hall told The Herald: "We have had a lot of interest shown by people on the road and we are hoping to have a meeting with Surrey County Council to discuss our findings."

Two months ago June Hathaway from Sun Brow, Sicklemill, contacted The Herald after her 11-year-old grand-daughter was involved in an accident while trying to cross the congested road.

Calling for safety measures in Kings Road, Mrs Hathaway collected a petition of more than 75 names of neighbours demanding that "something is done before someone is killed".

She also wrote to Haslemere Town Council and Surrey County Council.

Haslemere town councillors are also concerned about the dangers of Kings Road and other roads in the vicinity and have formed a working party to discuss parking problems across the whole town.

At a town council meeting last month, Michael Biddiscombe, a resident of Kings Road, called for SCC to look at "hot spots where there is a serious risk to life and limb".

He called for action in other roads in the town, including Weydown Road, which he considered was also a hazard for young children.

With at least 18 months to go before plans are considered for a controlled parking scheme for Haslemere, at the same meeting Jacquie Keen pleaded for the road to be made a "special case".

"There should be restricted parking especially on the bend - there is an accident waiting to happen there," she warned.

She called Kings Road "one of the worse roads in the town".

Barbara Jeffers believed that parking problems in Haslemere could only get worse when building word started on the new Haslewey community building on the site in front of Tesco at Wey Hill, which is presently used for free parking.

Ted Orchard and Mr Biddiscombe have already had an informal meeting with Surrey County Council's principal engineer Tracey Webb over the issue in Kings Road.

"We are considering putting two chicanes in the road to start with. This would help to slow the traffic down and should also discourage large, heavy vehicles from using the road as a rat-run," said Barbara Jeffers.

Chief engineer at Surrey County Council, Graham Hodgson has also agreed that a full investigation of the problems on the road should be made which could lead to interim measures.

But he warned that tackling Kings Road's problems in isolation could create problems elsewhere in the town.

"Whatever decisions we make will take into consideration the town as a whole, we definitely do not want to transfer the parking problems to other roads nearby," he added.

Residents from other roads near to the railway station are also concerned about parking dangers.

Graham Hodgson is expected to address the problems of Kings Road and other Haslemere roads when he meets members of the town council's highways and planning committee at its meeting on January 24.

DERBY Road resident Roger Pedder, who is campaigning for an integrated approach to parking problems in the town, has called on residents to help pay for a controlled parking zone (CPZ) to relieve the problems of commuter parking.

In a letter to the town council, copies of which went to MP Virginia Bottomley and The Herald, Mr Pedder called on the town council to ask residents of Longdene Road, Weydown, Derby and Church Roads, Tanners Lane and Church Lane, for their views.

"If local subscription would help pay for the necessary CPZ paraphernalia then I will pledge myself as a subscriber. If a public bond is necessary to help fund a new car park in partnership with the the rail authority, I will subscribe to that."

He maintains that a CPZ in Kings Road in isolation will force cars to park in other roads.

"Shortly there will be double-sided parking in Weydown and Derby Road as there is already in Church Road."

He warned that if that happened: "No one will be able to move and children attending St Bart's will be in danger."