Letter: Council Should Reconsider the Likelihood of ‘Modal-shift’

Published on: 5 Jun, 2019
Updated on: 5 Jun, 2019

From Bibhas Neogi

Current work by Highways England on the A3 is purely to improve traffic flow by stacking traffic leaving the A3 on widened slip roads and “ramp metering” traffic joining from Dennis roundabout.

Ramp metering is the technical term of using traffic lights on the entry slip roads to control how many vehicles enter and join the highway.

There are no corresponding measures for the local highway authority to cope with the extra volume that would be attempting to join the local network or waiting on it.

Surrey County Council’s approach to dealing with the congestion is to rely on modal-shift, ie car users switching to public transport, cycling and walking. But there is no indication that any such shift will take place to an extent that would make any appreciable reduction in traffic. Guildford terrain and weather are likely to deter even the most willing and able.

With the change in Guildford Borough Council following the election, maybe there will be fresh incentive to rethink the issue of congestion?

May I suggest that the scheme I outlined on my website to take the A281 and the A3100 traffic through a tunnel from Shalford Park area to the A25 Parkway be explored with a view to reducing congestion through the town centre? A case should be made urgently to assess such a scheme. Funding from the M3 LEP would be essential but if full funding could not be obtained, the tunnel could be tolled.

Recently there have been comments about putting the A3 in a tunnel. As far as I am aware, such a scheme has not been explored by Highways England. The scheme to widen the A3 between the A31 on-slip and Stoke roundabout is currently being developed but no information is available yet in the public domain.