HIGHWAY bosses are consulting the public on a scheme to make a Hampshire market town’s streets more pedestrian-friendly.

A package of measures totalling nearly £500,000 have been unveiled by Hampshire and Test Valley highway chiefs and they include installing pedestrian-vehicle shared road surfaces in Church Street, Bell Street and the Market Place at Romsey.

Existing road surfaces in Church Street between Abbey Walk and the Market Place will be raised to match footway levels.

Church Street will be narrowed near its junction with the Market Place where a pedestrian crossing is planned.

A ramp will also be built at the junction with the aim of slowing traffic down and a similar feature is proposed outside the old magistrates’ court building now home to Test Valley Borough Council.

It is also planned to reposition an existing bus stop outside the council’s offices. Seating and plants are also proposed along the frontage of the council’s offices in a bid to discourage motorists from parking there and a parking bay outside Romsey Post Office will be retained.

Consultation ends on Friday, April 11, and the public’s view will be used to help council officers finalise the proposals which if approved are likely to be implemented next January.