Compton B3000 Junction Right-Turn Banned to Cut Queues and Improve Air Quality

Published on: 19 Dec, 2019
Updated on: 21 Dec, 2019

As of Monday (December 16), drivers of north-bound vehicles on The Street, Compton (B3000) have been prohibited from turning right into Downs Lane which can now be accessed via the roundabout and a left-hand turn.   

The measure is aimed at reducing queuing in the Air-Quality Management Area (AQMA) south of the junction.

Guildford Borough Council will continue to monitor the area and report to Defra on the effectiveness of the change. The decision to conduct a trial was taken in July.

The council is taking a large number of actions to tackle air pollution across the borough, including the nine 9 electric buses in the park-and-ride fleet, an electric-charging network study and encouraging businesses for sign up for and use the green travel network easitGUILDFORD, which promotes the use of reduced-cost public transport, cycling and car-sharing initiatives.

This story is based on a GBC press release.

Responses to Compton B3000 Junction Right-Turn Banned to Cut Queues and Improve Air Quality

Simon Schultz Reply

December 19, 2019 at 4:58 pm

What a pointless exercise this proposed solution is. I was one of the residents consulted.

We opposed this measure, as an analysis of the council’s own figures, distributed in the consultation, its effect on traffic-induced pollution will be insignificant. There is certainly no possibility that it will reduce pollution to below the legal limit.

The problem is not caused by cars queuing to turn right into Down Lane (this is not a major occurrence, and in fact, the traffic count is higher in the other direction). The cause of the problem is simple: the number of vehicles coming past per hour (in this artificial “canyon”) is too high.

This proposal is a mere sop so that Surrey County Council can pretend to be doing something. In fact, there is only one possible measure I can think of that would reduce pollution below the legal limit, and that is to close one direction of traffic in perpetuity. SCC was not prepared to even consider this, despite their legal obligation to consider solutions to reduce pollution below the legal limit which is currently being exceeded.
J Ferenczy Reply

April 19, 2022 at 3:28 pm

What about cyclists? Usual utter nonsense from SCC.