Active Travel Scheme – London Road Burpham
Following extensive engagement and consultation regarding changes to a section of London Road in Guildford, Cabinet Members at Surrey County Council have decided not to proceed with a major part of the scheme.
Residents and people who travel through the area were invited to give their views on a proposed new cycling and walking route on the A3100 in Burpham.
Views from the local community generated support for various elements of the scheme, but also highlighted significant concerns about the proposed carriageway widths for large vehicles and adjacent shared paths for pedestrians along section one of the scheme (New Inn Lane to York Road).
Cabinet members considered the recommendations of this review, alongside the strength of feeling from the local community, and decided not to proceed with this part of the scheme.
How The Coalition was involved
We wrote to The Leader of the Council to express our concerns regarding the Active Travel Scheme proposals.
“We want blind, visually impaired, disabled, older and vulnerable bus passengers to be able to get on and off the bus independently directly from/to the pavement as they have always done.
They should not have to cross cycle lanes or step into a cycle lane to get on and off a bus. These designs create a new barrier to accessing public transport independently”
As a result of writing to the Council Leader we were invited to speak for 3 minutes regarding our concerns at the cabinet meeting where the proposals were discussed. It was decided by the cabinet that the proposals were not a safer alternative for all road users and therefore should not proceed.
Following this decision, the decision was called in by the communities, environment and highways select committee for the committee to discuss whether the decision should be reviewed by the cabinet.
The Coalition submitted a question to be asked at the committee meeting but unfortunately our question wasn’t selected to be answered during the meeting.
During this time, The Coalition was asked to share their views on BBC Radio Surrey and BBC News Guildford: Active travel plans to be reconsidered by councillors – BBC News
The committee agreed that the decision should be reviewed by the cabinet.
The Coalition then wrote to all of the cabinet members again to reiterate our concerns regarding the scheme. This time no speakers we able to speak at the meeting on this issue.
The cabinet met on Tuesday 26th November where the Leader of Surrey County Council addressed the cabinet stating as there was no new evidence since the committee meeting, the decision for the proposals not to proceed would still stand. Future of Guildford’s controversial £6m cycle scheme decided in less than 3 minutes
Thanks to all of our members that have supported us with this. We’ll continue our national campaigning and local campaigning on this issue to ensure our members can continue to travel independently and safely.