THE B3006 Selborne Road is to close for up to six months to allow an £80,000 scheme to make the village more pedestrian friendly. According to a statement by Hampshire County Council, officers have been working with Selborne Parish Council and villagers to introduce features to slow down traffic and keep it away from pedestrians. The work is expected to begin later this month or in early March. At present, the narrow carriageway through the centre of Selborne can result in vehicles passing close to pedestrians. A "Mecca" for naturalists from across the globe, Gilbert White's House and the Oates Museum alone attract around 30,000 visitors a year to Selborne, most of whom have to walk through the village from the coach and car park, located some distance from the building. The plan is to put coloured surfacing along the edges of the carriageway, which will visually reduce the main traffic lane to a constant width of 4.5m, and to remove centre-line road markings. The existing priority build-outs and pinch- points on the outskirts of the village will remain, but with new pinch-points installed - one north of the junction with Galley Hill and the other near the museum. These will incorporate pedestrian crossings and will benefit local parents who walk with their children to and from the village school - particularly relevant as the single pavement is narrow. Resurfacing of the carriageway will also be carried out allowing colour to be incorporated into the new surfacing material. The pavements will be resurfaced as part of the project, with those sections which are block paved remaining undisturbed. Additionally, almost 50 signs on the approaches and throughout the village will be removed, with others being reduced in size, to reduce sign clutter. The council's executive member for environment, Mel Kendal, believes the scheme is a good illustration of the county council working closely with both the parish council and village community to set realistic objectives and priorities. "We've all worked hard in coming up with the scheme that achieves results, while keeping the special character of the village. By removing the centre road markings it is hoped, when there isn't any oncoming traffic, vehicles will travel further away from the pavements than is currently the case. "When there's more traffic, the lack of a central line will lead to a modest level of uncertainty by approaching drivers, and it's anticipated they will act with more caution." Chairman of Selborne Parish Council Peter Chapman said his council was delighted that the county council had chosen Selborne for this innovative scheme. He said: "The speed of traffic using the B3006 through the village presents both a risk to its residents and many visitors, and has a major impact on the quality of life in this historic village. "We hope this scheme will encourage a change in driver behaviour and that the speed limit will be more readily complied with, thus making Selborne a safer environment for all." Speaking on behalf of the Selborne Traffic Action Group (STAG), whose members have been fighting for years to get improvements to the traffic problems, chairman Amanda Martin said: "The (STAG) committee is supportive of the new initiative to improve pedestrian safety and hopes motorists are encouraged to heed the speed limit." But, she said that once completed, STAG would press Hampshire County Council to carry out ongoing speed and volume monitoring to verify the success of the scheme. "In the meantime, we look to all parties to seek a solution to the traffic volumes that are so detrimental to a village steeped in conservation history," said Mrs Martin. In order to undertake the carriageway resurfacing, the B3006 will be closed to through traffic. This will be undertaken in liaison with the local community and bus operators, together with signs for diversion routes. Most of the work is expected to be completed by Easter. n An information exhibition is to be held this Monday at Selborne Village Hall, between 3 pm and 8 pm, when details of the scheme and the manner in which the works will be carried out will be displayed.