New pedestrian crossing at Romsey Road and Clifton Terrace

To the delight of the walkers and cyclists of Winchester an 18-month trial for a pedestrian crossing will be installed at Romsey Road at its junction with Clifton Terrace. 

As a way of making it easier for people to cross the road, Hampshire County Council has decided to set up a new traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing for a trial period in early 2024.  

This stretch of road can be heavily congested with cars and cyclists along with being a convenient and popular place to cross due to its close proximity to the city centre, hospital, university, schools and housing. 

This is in partnership with the Winchester Movement Strategy which was adopted by the county council and Winchester City Council in spring 2019 to create a development plan to reduce city centre traffic, support healthier lifestyle choices and invest in infrastructure to support sustainable growth.  

Leader of Winchester City Council, Martin Tod, said: “It’s actually a real problem for people to cross. It’s a route lots of people want to cross as there’s a lot of students living on that side of the road who want to get across to the University of Winchester, and you will often see big, long queues of pedestrians backing up wanting to find a moment when it’s safe to cross the road. When we talk to local people, they are just not confident that it’s safe as things currently stand, so they want to see a crossing there.” 

Despite the proposed crossing located near Clifton Terrace raising concerns with nearby residents about its impact on the surrounding roads, there are appropriate traffic measures being taken throughout the trial which include: 

• The installation of a pedestrian crossing 
• A new contraflow cycle lane 
• Clifton Terrace will be made ‘No Entry’ – only permitted to a right turn when exiting 
• A section of on-street parking will be moved from the southern section of Clifton Terrace to the northern section by Allison Way 

A traffic regulation order will be in place for a maximum period of up to 18 months to facilitate these changes. The scheme will be monitored, and the data gathered during the trial period will be used to understand the benefits and wider impacts.