Work on the new South Winchester Park and Ride scheme is set to start next month.
Construction on the keenly awaited facility from Hampshire County Council - which aims to cut city centre congestion - is expected to take 12 months, with a planned opening in Spring 2010.
Around 15,000 people commute into Winchester by car each day, resulting in long queues at peak times and poor air quality in the historic city centre. More than 60 per cent of this traffic comes from the Southampton and south east Hampshire area, making a park and ride facility for south Winchester a key improvement for commuters, visitors and local businesses.
Construction work and highway restrictions
The main construction work is due to begin on 20 April 2009 but some initial work will be carried out in March, including setting up the site compound area and diverting electricity and telecom cables. To do this safely, Otterbourne Road, at a point near the existing field gate will be reduced to single lane, one way working between 9.30am and 4.30pm with temporary traffic signals.
When the main work starts in April, contractors Dyer and Butler will construct the bus entrance from Otterbourne Road and the main car park entrance/exit at the Hockley Link roundabout. Work will also begin on the actual site, with the chalk excavated and levelled out on the west side, then built up to form a small mound on the east side. At two metres higher that the adjacent car park, the mound will help screen it from the wider landscape.
At the same time, improvements will be made to Bushfield Roundabout and Hockley Link including:
- enabling two lanes of traffic to flow from Badger Farm Road, around Bushfield Roundabout to Hockley Link
- repairing part of the roundabout surfacing
- providing a shared footway/cycleway around Bushfield Roundabout and linking to the Park and Ride site along Otterbourne Road.
For this work to be done it will be necessary to reduce the carriageway at times, including introducing a temporary 30mph speed limit. While Bushfield Roundabout is widened and resurfaced, part of Badger Farm Road and the roundabout will be closed. This will be carried out over two weekends during the summer school holidays to minimise disruption. Signed diversion routes will be in place during the closure.
All work affecting the highway is been carefully coordinated with other planned work in the Winchester area, to reduce disruption as far as possible.
A separate contract for the landscape planting will be let in the summer, with the planting works starting next winter 2009/10 as the main construction works are nearing completion.
Park and Ride facilities
The scheme comprises an 864 space park and ride car park and central amenities building on the Itchen Farm site (also known locally as the Tarmac site), next to junction 11 of the M3. Incorporating high quality design and materials, the scheme is based on the latest best practice, and builds on the experience of the current Winchester park and ride sites.
The amenity building includes toilets, bus information, shelters and waiting areas. A ‘green’ roof with low-level planting will help blend the building into the surrounding landscape. CCTV coverage and lighting will enhance security, with lamps designed to reduce upward light.
The main vehicle access into the car park will be via a fourth arm off the Hockley Link roundabout. A dedicated footway and cycleway will be provided from the site along a section of Otterbourne Road, linking to improved crossing facilities at Bushfield roundabout.
Landscaping to promote wildlife
The landscaping includes earth mounds to reduce the visual impact, with planting carefully selected to complement the existing belt of mature beech trees to the west of the site bordering Otterbourne Road. A range of flowering plants and wildflowers is designed to encourage insects and butterflies, with nesting, foraging and hibernation areas provided for other native wildlife.
Councillor Mel Kendal, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Environment said: “The new Park and Ride scheme is a key development in our drive to combat congestion and improve air quality in Winchester.
“By providing 864 parking spaces on the south side of the city, there should be less rush hour traffic on Romsey Road and St Cross Road. Drivers coming into Winchester from the south will soon have the choice of leaving their cars and having a stress-free journey into the city centre. With ever increasing levels of traffic, there’s already demand for another park and ride scheme to benefit commuters and businesses alike.”
Prospective Winchester MP Steve Brine added; “The completed scheme also includes some impressive environmental credentials, with high levels of landscaping and a carefully selected range of flowering plants and wildflowers to complement the existing surroundings. I know the scheme is not universally popular, especially with some residents on the south side of the city but it's here now and I guess we need to make it work for Winchester in the best way possible.”
For more information, visit http://www3.hants.gov.uk/south-winchester-park-and-ride.htm
Existing park and ride sites at Barfield and St Catherine’s provide almost 800 spaces and run at near capacity during daytimes.
