'˜Act before Midhurst chokes to a standstill'

Steve Morley told fellow members of the town council’s planning committee last night (Monday, March 13) he believed it was time to act to stop the town ‘choking itself to a standstill’.

“If we don’t undertake this then the piecemeal methods of maintenance currently used will continue and Midhurst’s traffic congestion will only get worse.”

Without action from the town council he believed a ‘long struggle’ would be necessary to get the town bypassed.

He proposed forming a task and finish group to carry out a ‘road space audit’ as ammunition in a bid to get action.

Midhurst’s problems were largely due to lack of maintenance of signs, lines and road surfaces, said Mr Morley.

“Motorists have become aware civil enforcement officers do not issue parking tickets where they believe the law cannot be enforced fairly. Needless to say they take advantage of this.”

Although the situation in North Street had improved, South Street was ‘positively dangerous in places’ he said and several other roads needed inspection.

In some places yellow lines had almost disappeared while in others there were three lines which led to confusion and more congestion.

He said there was also a pot-hole problem, dropped kerbs and places needing dropped kerbs.

“At Rumbolds Hill we are all aware the road is actually disappearing faster than it can be repaired.”

Some people wanted resident parking zones and others wanted an end to displacement parking.

“There are places where you can park your car and leave it for more than a month. Many see this as selfish and unfair to our shops and businesses who depend on a healthy turn-over of customers and clients. We need to protect our shops’ parking as well as residents.”

There had also been an increase in the number of people who supported a 20mph speed limit in the town.

The issue will go before full council on Monday (March 20).

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