SOUTH Farnham residents have drawn battle lines against the hordes of commuters and other long- stay parkers who clog up Waverley Lane and surrounding roads. South Farnham Residents' Association, concerned at both the congestion and the potential danger in the vicinity of three schools, has drawn up its own set of parking proposals and is awaiting action on them from Surrey County Council. The proposals, on which the association has consulted all residents and liaised with the county council, basically do away with a lot of the unrestricted stretches where motorists currently park at will, jamming the traffic flow and causing hazard to pedestrians. In their place would be either yellow lines or time- limited bays, to stagger the parking. The association's view is that Farnham railway station is the appropriate place for commuters' cars, perhaps in a decked car park, and that the rail authority should have its hand forced. "If we kick cars off the road they will have to do something," resident Gordon Williams declared at the association's agm. "I think a deck on the car park would solve a lot of problems. If you look at how they decked Frimley Park Hospital's car park, it doesn't look unsightly," said Farnham county councillor Pat Frost. "This excellent plan has been produced on behalf of you all. Surrey only wishes there were other communities in the borough who could do what you have done and what you have achieved." She explained that following the introduction of decriminalised parking in April, Surrey was now reviewing the suitability of the restrictions of every area in the borough, starting with Godalming, followed by Farnham in the new year, with south Farnham top of the list as it had done the work. "Please be patient, it is going to happen but the wheels grind extremely slowly," she warned, though denying Mr Williams' assertion that the process was "longer than the gestation period of an elephant". The meeting was told that the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice was hoping to do its bit to ease congestion, by submitting a planning application to increase its on-site parking provision by a further 19 spaces. Residents also heard from Andrew Carter, headteacher of South Farnham School, about the Pegasus Bus initiative. It involved three buses bringing children to his school who might otherwise come by car and five buses serving St Polycarp's School. "The children come safely and parents are coming more and more to rely on it," he said.
