Streetworks

Just as we thought the street works which have closed off one of the main roads into the town centre in Romsey for weeks, were coming to an end, it seems there is a delay in re-opening the thoroughfare.
Right from the outset, controversy has surrounded the elaborate scheme which is supposed to enhance the approach to the town centre and the Market Place.
The idea is that pedestrians and traffic can share the same roadway without it being a complete pedestrianised area. But it has closed off the street which leads to the town's parish church, the Abbey, a string of shops and put the Post Office out on a limb.
Now, it seems that additional drainage work needs to be carried out to prevent major puddles forming in heavy rains where pedestrians will be walking. And that, according to today's edition of the local newspaper, the Romsey Advertiser means the road will remain closed for another week.
Shopkeepers along the street are already reporting a fall in business while the work has been going, and there are those who are not convinced that the idea of pedestrians and traffic mixing is a good idea.
Yet it is reported that the work is only the first phase of a multi-million pound scheme to introduce the same idea on two more town centre areas.
Apart from fears for safety issues, many Romsonians will not be looking forward to the prospect of weeks of still more disruption in the town centre.