Global Trade

A controversial bus gate designed to limit traffic on a busy high street has been suspended.

The Portswood Road restrictions meant only buses, taxis and cyclists were permitted to travel along sections of the road at certain hours.

It was part of a six-month trial by Southampton City Council, which started in January.

The measures will be lifted from Thursday after what the council called a comprehensive three-month review and feedback from local residents.

Residents had protested against the scheme in March, with some saying it was causing "chaos" on neighbouring small residential streets.

Protestors marched through Portswood to voice their concerns and Michael Mace, a resident of Brookvale Road, said the whole scheme had been a "fiasco".

Two separate petitions were set up calling to get rid of the scheme, one of which attracted more than 5,000 signatures.

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: "Our approach has always been rooted in evidence and safety. We've used this trial to test the real-world impact of changes designed to make Portswood Broadway a safer, more attractive place to travel and spend time.

"The data shows that while the intended benefits are emerging, we must address unintended effects on surrounding roads. We are grateful to all residents and business who have taken the time to contact us to share their experiences with their thoughts about the trial."

The council said its assessment found a significant rise in traffic along nearby residential streets, including Brookvale Road, which raised concerns around road safety and congestion.

"We are acting decisively to relieve that pressure while continuing to explore long-term improvements. The council will work closely with residents in the coming months to understand why expected traffic patterns, such as use of Thomas Lewis Way, have not materialised. This engagement will help shape the next phase of the project, including possible new measures to protect residential roads and improve overall traffic flow," Mr Keogh said.

Namrata Nangia and her husband have been toying with the idea of having another child since their five-year-old daughter was born.

But it always comes back to one question: 'Can we afford it?'

She lives in Mumbai and works in pharmaceuticals, her husband works at a tyre company. But the costs of having one child are already overwhelming – school fees, the school bus, swimming lessons, even going to the GP is expensive.

It was different when Namrata was growing up. "We just used to go to school, nothing extracurricular, but now you have to send your kid to swimming, you have to send them to drawing, you have to see what else they can do."

According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for reproductive rights, Namrata's situation is becoming a global norm.

The agency has taken its strongest line yet on fertility decline, warning that hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, citing the prohibitive cost of parenthood and the lack of a suitable partner as some of the reasons.

UNFPA surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries about their fertility intentions. One in five said they haven't had or expect they won't have their desired number of children.

The countries surveyed – South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria – account for a third of the global population.

They are a mix of low, middle and high-income countries and those with low and high fertility. UNFPA surveyed young adults and those past their reproductive years.

"The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates," says Dr Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA.

"Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis," she says.