OVER recent years, Southampton Council, the highways department and the police have been involved in ‘improving’ the traffic situation close to Itchen College in the vicinity of Ruby Middle and Deacon Roads, as well as St Aubins and Lime Avenues.

As residents, we feel that St Aubins Avenue has suffered because of these so-called improvements while Lime Avenue has benefitted from extended double yellow lines and residents of Ruby Road may feel they have ‘benefitted’ from recent changes where Ruby Road becomes Middle Road.

On a normal day, it is often impossible to get out of St Aubins Avenue into Middle Road; vehicles (including college workmen, driving instructor vehicles, students, occasionally the mobile library) are regularly parked on double yellow lines at the junction; the zig-zag hazard lines at and close by a nearby pedestrian crossing are of uneven lengths, thereby enabling vehicle parking; following recent changes to Ruby Road, vehicles are driven even faster down Middle Road past St Aubins Avenue.

The attached photograph was taken today from the driver’s seat of a car attempting to turn right into Middle Road from St Aubins Avenue. Somewhere behind the two parked vehicles on the right is a road junction (a crossroads ‘disguised by the Highways department’) where Middle Road and Ruby Road meet and are crossed by Deacon Road in both directions. Can you see the oncoming traffic on these roads? Indeed, if not for the road signs, could you actually see the roads?

No one will take ownership and I wonder if the Echo will be willing to give the matter some publicity so that others may come forward and add weight to protests, or advise who we should be protesting to.

NAME & ADDRESS SUPPLIED.