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FOR 140 years it was a convenient way to cross the River Itchen from Woolston. Generations made the journey aboard the floating bridge that carried cars and pedestrians across the water.

Yet the service came to an end in 1977 when the newly opened Itchen Bridge offered a quicker route.

Now £500m plans for the redevelopment of the former Vosper Thornycroft shipyard have raised the prospect of a return of an old-fashioned solution to combat predicted the traffic nightmare.

As revealed in the Daily Echo, the plans for 1,653 homes could attract about 3,000 new residents by 2020.

It would give rise to a huge increase in traffic which will create city-bound queues of more than 1,150 cars across the Itchen Bridge, including 200 from the new development, if nothing is done.

Developer Crest Nicholson has already said it is exploring the possibility of funding a water taxi to carry residents to both Ocean Village and Town Quay.

The development will include a new pontoon and space for car parking which could support a water taxi service "subject to commercial testing and impact analysis", a spokesman said.

But could the Woolston Ferry make a comeback? Jack Candy, from the City of Southampton Society, was an apprentice toolmaker at the Supermarine factory in Woolston for ten years in the 1930s.

The steam powered Woolston Ferry, or floating bridge, which used chains to draw itself over the Itchen, was a daily pleasure for him.

"It was great fun, he said. "I used to take my children across and often used it to cross to work in Woolston. It was very popular."

However, Mr Candy said that while the ferry should be remembered, it was unlikely to return.

"It would be interesting to see again but I don't think a car ferry across the river would be practical now."

One of the key movers behind the Itchen Bridge also dismissed the idea of a car ferry as too slow and impractical to cope with the amount of traffic it would face.

Former councillor Alan Reynard, who was chairman of the Itchen Bridge Committee, said: "It sounds nice in principle but I don't think its practical."

He added: "A water taxi would provide a service for some but it also wouldn't solve the problem. It's just applying a coat of paint to cover a sore."

Mr Reynard, who oversaw the building of £12m Itchen Bridge, said dedicated bus lanes on the bridge had been discussed at the time but rejected on cost grounds. Finances would probably rule out any bridge improvement today as well, he said.

He said: "The only option available will be road widening. I don't think there is an insolveable problem on the Southampton side.

"But 20 years down the line and the whole of Portsmouth Road will be under threat.

"The congestion will be so great the only alternative will be to widen the road and demolish properties."

Developers are planing less radical steps.

Two bus routes, 17 and 17A, will be redirected through the site, branded Centenary Quay, and residents will be offered interest-free loan for season tickets.

Car sharing and bicycle schemes will be encouraged with cycle routes along the waterfront and almost 1,900 spaces for cycle parking.

A park-and-ride at Windhover, at the A3024 junction of the A27, will be investigated.

Funding will also be provided for junction improvements along Portsmouth Road, improvements to the capacity of the tollbooths at the Itchen Bridge, and the introduction of a circular traffic system around Woolston town centre.

Further contributions will be made to introduce traffic calming at various locations, including Obelisk Road, John's Road, and Peartree Avenue, and to provide a puffin crossing at the Itchen Bridge.

A new road through the site will allow a 10mph speed limit to be introduced along Victoria Road.

Professor John Preston, a transport expert at the University of Southampton, said much rested on the decisions of new residents over the use of alternatives to cars but that it was essential that there were cycle routes right across to the city.

Mr Preston said infrastructure problems would hamper a new car ferry and also ruled out bridge improvements.

The simple solution, say residents who are preparing a detailed objection, is not to cram in so many homes.

The full plans can be viewed at the city council. The deadline for objections is May 16.

What do you think? Email newsdesk@dailyecho.co.uk.

10:34am Saturday 19th April 2008

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