Portsmouth City Council is looking at creating an Active Pompey Neighbourhood in Southsea in the area that stretches from Fawcett and Lawrence Road on the west, Bath Road to the east, Goldsmith Avenue to the north, and Albert Road to the south. It’s the first time a project like this has been trialled in the city.
The council is asking residents that live in or regularly visit the area to share how they travel through the area, when they walk and cycle, and when they use the car. They are seeking views on the best ways to reduce non-local traffic, make the roads more pleasant to travel on, and pavements safer and nicer to walk along.
Ways to make the neighbourhood more friendly and safer for people to travel in could include modal filters (planters in the road to restrict most motor traffic), traffic calming, one-way streets, more trees and plants to make walking more pleasant, and new crossings for people walking and on bikes.
The area has been selected as a pilot for the Active Pompey Neighbourhoods scheme to build on existing traffic-calming measures that have already been put in place and have created quieter streets with less traffic locally. People in the area also regularly host play streets.
There are four primary schools and one secondary school in the area and views are also being sought from pupils who attend the schools and their parents and carers about how school journeys can be improved and older children can be encouraged to walk or cycle to school.
The council is also holding a free ‘Up Your Street’ community day at Priory School on Thursday 27 October from 2 – 7pm which will showcase everything the neighbourhood has to offer, and also give people a chance to talk to the team about what changes could be made. There will be activities for children and adults including a treasure hunt, face painting, a smoothie bike, free fruit, and free vegan snacks. Children will also be able to design flags that will be used to decorate the Active Pompey Neighbourhood when the changes are made.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “We have chosen this area because we have had many comments from residents over the years about through traffic and concerns about safety. We have listened and want to work with everyone that lives, works or travels through this area to solve this problem.
“We want people to be able to leave the car at home when they can for short journeys, and this new Active Pompey Neighbourhood is another step towards making that choice easier. We’d love to hear from anyone that lives in or travels through the area about how they feel about non-local traffic and how we can all work together to improve walking and cycling in the neighbourhood and how we can help make them feel safe and active.
“We are making these plans together. If they are successful, people will feel empowered to walk and cycle more in their neighbourhood and they’ll benefit in many ways, they’ll feel healthier, air quality will be improved, and they’ll save money. This area could also be a model for other areas of the city in the future.”
Creating an Active Pompey Neighbourhood is in line with the council’s plan to improve air quality in the city and encourage people to walk, cycle and take public transport more frequently.
The survey is open from 17 October until 13 November 2022. Once the results have been analysed the council’s team will design suggested changes to the streets and seek more views on the changes before they are put in.
Take part in the survey https://www.research.net/r/APN
Find out more about the scheme travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/activepompeyneighbourhood