THE town's main road has had its speed limit cut by 10 mph by Hampshire County Council. It was announced on Tuesday that the A325 which contains Petersfield Road, High Street and Camp Road will adopt a new 30 mph speed limit from July 10. It is hoped the new measures will cause less confusion for motorists, as the speed limit at present varies between 30 mph and 40 mph between the Whitehill crossroads and the old fire station junction. Town mayor Don Mayes said: "It is something that has been argued for by the town council for years and now we have got to see how it affects the traffic. I think that speed is a problem because we have three sets of traffic lights and two roundabouts on what is about a mile-and-a-half stretch of road. "We will only find out as time goes on whether people still insist on speeding, which has been one of the problems along this road. Jumping the lights is another. Sometimes people could not get out of Chalet Hill because there was traffic held up by the lights, and of course there have been several incidents on the A325." County representative for Bordon, Whitehill and Lindford Adam Carew felt that it made no sense for the speed limit to flit from 30 mph to 40 mph and back to 30 mph. "It will give the motorist a clearer idea and from a safety perspective, it has got to be a good thing." The council hopes the speed reduction will be the first of many on the town's roads. The town council has specifically looked to reduce speeds on Hollywater Road and Liphook Road in recent times. "The planning and amenities committee hasbeen lobbying for speed reductions for the last six to seven years and has come close to success on a number of occasions. Since we started arguing for this, speed restrictions have been imposed on the Liphook to Lindford road and others around it, but the Hollywater Road has a 60 mph limit. This is illogical on such a small and narrow stretch of road," said a council spokesman. "Adam Carew spoke to the district council, who will support our request for a speed reduction on the roads. We need now to put everything together and get some action taken," added the spokesman. Mr Carew said that he had been fighting to get the country lane speed limits reduced since 2003. "It is absurd that they remain at 60 mph. I hope we can get EHDC's full support on this issue and together lobby the county council for a reduction to at least 40 mph. It is absurd that these country roads are stuck at 60 mph when the larger B3004 nearby is 50 mph." Calls for better safety have increased since the death of a 25-year-old man in a crash on Hogmoor Road last week. Talking about that stretch of road, local councillor Philip Drury said there was a lack of street lighting which the county council needed to address. He was also concerned with the speed of some traffic along the road. "I have been overtaken when I was doing around 40 mph by an Army truck passing me at about 60 mph," said Mr Drury. Mr Carew added: "We are pressing for a speed reduction on the Hogmoor Road and it is due to be discussed at the next planning and amenities meeting. I not suggesting that the tragic events of last week have anything to do with speed, that is for the police to decide, but it has become something of a rat-run with many people using this road to avoid the A325."
