COUNCIL chiefs have agreed a “shopping list” of measures to hand to the transport minister next week in a bid to improve safety on the A31.

A delegation from Ringwood Town Council will join New Forest MP Desmond Swayne to meet MP Stephen Hammond on Monday May 13 to discuss what can be done to make the notorious stretch of road safer.

It comes after Ringwood councillors met with Simon Hayes, Hampshire’s police crime commissioner, and Dorset’s police crime commissioner Martyn Underhill to analyse road safety methods.

In February, Ringwood teenager Jade Clark died in a collision on the stretch of road and last year town councillors raised a 1,000-name petition protesting about the “appalling” accident rate on the busy dual carriageway.

Cllr Michael Thierry, from Ringwood Town Council and New Forest District Council, said a “shopping list” with three potential road improvement suggestions would be handed to the transport minister.

Improvements include introducing an additional lane from the slip road from the A338 to the A31 at the Ashley Heath roundabout, adding more signs on flyovers, and urging the Highways Agency to class the dual carriageway as an urban road which would bring the speed limit down to 50mph.

Mr Underhill said: “The important thing is that everybody – on both sides of the border – is all supporting this.

“Verwood have said they only support reengineering works – not a reduction in the speed limit – but they still agree something should be done. Every elected official on both sides is saying let’s do something about this.

“Ultimately that junction needs reengineering – when people approach the A338, they are in the wrong lane and it’s like playing dodgems. The people of Dorset are as affected by this as anyone; we all drive that road and we all know what it’s like.

“Yes the speed is a factor that needs to be dealt with but it is not the only problem. Signage is another issue that needs to be addressed.”

Cllr Thierry said: “Meeting with two police crime commissioners is tremendously significant. They have tremendous responsibility but both of them had the time to come and spend well over an hour to talk to councillors and understand how we are viewing things.

“It was constructive. We all know the history of the A31 and we are in the position where a lot of people who are stakeholders in this are willing something to be done about the A31 in terms of safety.

“Ringwood is just a small town council yet it has engineered and brought about a campaign to have something done and for the roads minister to give us the time to come up and see him, and give his consideration to what we will feel are road safety improvements on the A31.”

Mr Hayes said: “The town council have the support of myself and the police crime commissioner for Dorset.

“We recognised the problems and we want to do all we can to do something about it.

“It’s a Highways Agency issue which would require the minister to agree to fund any engineering programmes.

“We are all of one mind. It meets my agenda as police and crime commissioner that it’s preventing harm to the public by a making the road safer.

“It’s preventing accidents and injury. We will see what the minister says and take it from there.”