General election 2019: What will candidates do about Eastleigh traffic?
- Published
Residents are worried new homes will make traffic worse
Peak-time traffic in the Hampshire constituency of Eastleigh has been causing commuter stress, especially in and around Bursledon and Old Netley where hundreds more homes are being built.
Christine Brown, who lives in the constituency, asked BBC's Your Questions Answered team: "What would each candidate do about traffic on Hamble Lane?"
She said: "The main problem happens at the junction of Portsmouth Road and Hamble Lane.
"At peak times, traffic trying to turn right into Portsmouth Road gets blocked by oncoming traffic as there is not a sufficient turning right lane and Hamble Lane very quickly gets blocked going on to the Windhover roundabout and M27 slip road.
"With the extra housing now being built on Hamble Lane, the problem is only getting worse.
"Apparently plans are afoot to alleviate this problem but, as yet, nothing has been seen."
Access to Jurd Way is due to be closed
What has happened so far?
Hampshire County Council held two consultations in 2018 on a proposed £13.5m improvement scheme
It is proposing to widen the northern part of Hamble Lane, external and install traffic lights at the problem junctions
In January, former Eastleigh MP Mims Davies said she was working with the county council, external to try and secure the government investment needed
Eastleigh Borough Council said a new spine road connecting Bursledon Road with new housing developments, external on Kestrel Park, Kingfisher Grange and Heron walk would open later this year and access to Jurd Way would be closed to ease congestion on Hamble Lane
Access to Jurd Way is due to be closed
What do Eastleigh's parliamentary candidates have to say on the issue?
Sam Jordan - Labour
Labour candidate Sam Jordan said: "Our biggest issue in our constituency is that we continue to build houses without any plan to deal with the continued lack of quality infrastructure.
"We can reduce traffic in two ways; build more roads or enable alternative travel options. I am a supporter of the second proposal.
"There are a range of works that could be completed on Hamble Lane to enable traffic reduction - priority bus services and continual cycle lanes are just two examples.
"I intend to continue to hold the council to account on all constituency house building, the atrocious infrastructure that we currently have and the adverse effect that this traffic has on the health of constituents - myself included as I'm the only candidate that lives here."
Lynda Murphy - Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat candidate Lynda Murphy said: "I'll demand an urgent meeting with Highways England and Hampshire County Council on why their proposals to tackle congestion at Windhover at Hamble Lane keep being pushed back.
"Hampshire County Council backed new housing at Hamble Lane against the wishes of local people and Eastleigh Borough Council.
"They, and government agencies, need to step up to sort out the traffic mess."
Ron Meldrum - Green Party
Green candidate Ron Meldrum said: "It is Green Party policy to find ways of reducing the amount of traffic on our roads. Overall this would be done by investing greener alternative forms of transport and encouraging people to leave the car at home.
"The problem has arisen, because of the excessive building of more dwellings in the area. Each of which has brought more car ownership into the area.
"If we insist on growing our populations, clearly the situation will only get worse. If its a problems that must be solved, then clearly restrictions will have to be put in place.
"The Green Party believes in localism and would like see a local assembly encourage people living in the area to come up with up agreed solutions."
Paul Holmes - Conservatives
Conservative candidate Paul Holmes said: "The issue of congestion in Bursledon and Old Netley as a result of new development represents a broader a problem for the whole constituency.
"My plan is to secure a fairer deal for Eastleigh, Hedge End and the villages which will be funded by Eastleigh Borough Council from the money it generates from responsible numbers of new housing.
"I would like to see significant upgrades to our major roads, including Hamble Lane but also others such Botley Road, Bursledon Road and Twyford Road to ensure our road network has enough capacity.
"Finally, the pace of development locally must be slowed. We need a chance to catch up and improve our local infrastructure before new houses are built. This is why I will also be opposing the Local Plan which is looking to build 15,000 new homes."
CONFUSED? Our simple election guide, external
POLICY GUIDE: Who should I vote for?, external
REGISTER: What you need to do to vote
Use the form below to send us your questions and we could be in touch.
In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.