Area Seven
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Phoebe Merrick

Area Setting and Landscape Settlement Pattern Open and other spaces Building Form Streets and Street furniture Pedestrian Routes Trees, hedges and other landscspe features Boundary Features Consultation Process

Streets and Street furniture

The outer roads
All the outer roads of the area are subject to 30 mph speed limits viz. Winchester Road, Cupernham Lane, Fishlake Meadows and Greatbridge Road.

Winchester Road (A3090)
There is a short stretch of Winchester Road between Cupernham Lane and the Sun Arch that is on the edge of lower Cupernham. This is a main road with a pedestrian refuge a little way below Cupernham Lane. There is a slip road for traffic turning left into Cupernham Lane and a pedestrian refuge in the Lane. The road under the Arch is prone to flooding and the pavements are very narrow there.

Cupernham Lane
This road is used by traffic too large to pass under the Sun Arch. There are times when traffic use is heavy and turning to or from Winchester Road is slow. Children from further east making their way on foot or by cycle to the Romsey School have to cross this road.

Fishlake Meadows

This road appears to be a typical edge of town road and many drivers assume, wrongly, that it has a 40 mph speed limit.

The turning out of Oxlease Close is near the corner of Cupernham Lane and on a bend in the road so is particularly difficult. Visibility to the left is obscured by the bridge over the canal. The eastern turning from Robert Whitworth Drive is also made difficult because of this bridge. The western exit has better sight lines.

The exit from the Industrial Estate has reasonable visibility but traffic joining Greatbridge Road (A3057) can have a difficult time. The railway bridge itself is a mass of warning signs and is functional rather than attractive.

The Roads and Paths within the Area
The roads are mostly covered with tarmac, but there are areas where courses of brick setts have been laid to remind drivers that they are in a residential area. These changes in road surface add to the community feel of particular areas. Some of the estate roads have quite elaborate sleeping policemen, usually with flat tops. These and the curved nature of the streets help to keep traffic speeds down. Some roads are so narrow that passing places have been provided.

Discontinuous pavements are often unpopular, especially where they alternate between tarmac and grass, for example in Horsecroft.

Road name signs are so placed as to be visible to car drivers coming from the most-likely access road. Pedestrians and drivers who are coming from other directions are not catered for. The actual form of road signs is unexceptional.

Street lamps are of a standard design. The failure to light blocks of garages and communal parking spaces means that these are not as well used as they might be, especially as some are not overlooked and therefore remote.

The overhead cables detract significantly from the streetscape of New Road.

Design Recommendations

	Overhead cables in New Road should be buried.
	Upgrading street lamps to a style more in keeping with the community lay-out of many of the closes and cul-de-sacs of this area would improve the street scene.
	Lights should be placed so that car parking areas are not left in darkness.
	Street lighting should be in a style that does not pollute the sky
	Erect street name boards for the benefit of pedestrians

Pedestrian Routes

The canal path is extensively used. The amount of litter and the overgrown state of the surrounding vegetation detract from its appearance. In view of the heavy use of this thoroughfare, more thought should be put into caring for it. It links these settlements with the town centre and provides access northwards to the countryside. It also provides a traffic free environment for children going to school.

Canal Walk has a tarmac surface as far as the New Road bridge. North of the bridge the path is not made up and can become very muddy as do some of the other footpaths in the area especially in winter, for example around Martha’s Piece. The tow path south from its junction with Canal Walk to the Plaza is also in poor repair and needs renovation. Furthermore its use is restricted by the absence of lighting. Canal Walk to Old Road is lit, but the bridges themselves are unlit.

The footpath beside Fishlake provides a useful link to the town for residents of Grayling Mead and its associated streets. It is also used by children en route to school. The railway bridge section is unlit, and north of the Industrial Estate the footpath is muddy.

When the Infant School is closed the bridge under the railway should remain open providing a permanent link between lower Cupernham and the Plaza Parade.

Design Recommendations

	Tarmac and light the tow path between New Road bridge and the bridge leading from Waterside Close.
	Renovate the tow path south of the junction with Canal Walk.
	Consider lighting for the railway bridge over the Fishlake stream