TRANSPORT chiefs are to ask residents if the controversial decision to reverse the traffic flow in a one-way street is proving popular.

Winchester City Council approved the switch in Parchment Street last November.

The trial period - which could last up to 18 months - is designed to reduce traffic in the narrow road.

Many residents had complained that motorists were using it as a short cut between North Walls and St George's Street. But since the switch shopkeepers in Parchment Street have complained of a drop in trade and are lobbying for the change to be reversed.

The Winchester Highway and Transport Advisory Panel heard that a survey is to be delivered to every home in Parchment Street, and the surrounding roads, to ask if they support the new arrangements.

County councillor Pam Peskett, said the change was making life difficult for residents in northern areas of Winchester, such as Abbotts Barton.

She stated that when they drove into the city centre, they now had to drive around the entire one-way system, leading to longer journeys.

The idea of cutting pollution in Parchment Street was one of the motives for the change.

As a possible solution, she suggested reversing the flow of traffic in St Peter Street, which neighbours Parchment Street. The city council is due to debate the Parchment Street changes in further detail this summer.