Letter: Cycling Can Help But It Is Not ‘The’ Solution

Published on: 21 Aug, 2016
Updated on: 21 Aug, 2016

From Bibhas Neogi

In response to: The Solution to Guildford’s Traffic Chaos – Is the Bicycle

Unlike Cambridge, Guildford is a gap town and almost all local traffic and quite a number of through traffic passes through Guildford.

What works for one town or a city does not necessarily work for others unless conditions are similar. Guildford’s roads are narrow and so there is little room for segregated cycle ways.

More use of bicycles would certainly remove some of the traffic but I would not think a great percentage of those who drive to or drive through Guildford would switch to using bicycles.

The aim would be to improve the road network for all users. A pedestrian and cycle friendly town centre is achievable but road infrastructure has to be modified and new ones added to enable this.

Hoping for a modal shift to using cycles and buses to a degree that would make a difference is unrealistic in Guildford but modifying the network to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists would increase the attraction of the town centre and a few more would probably leave their cars behind especially during the weekend.

So, I beg to differ from the view that, “The Solution to Guildford’s Traffic Chaos – Is the Bicycle”. It is not the solution but a small part in tackling the chaos.

Responses to Letter: Cycling Can Help But It Is Not ‘The’ Solution

Herbie Blackburn Reply

August 21, 2016 at 1:13 pm

Mr Neogi states: “almost all local traffic….passes through Guildford” – that is precisely the traffic that cycling can reduce. When 80% of journeys are less than five miles, any reduction of this volume will improve traffic flows, pollution levels and people’s health. The small cost of cycle infrastructure warrants its use, compared with massive costs of roads for cars.
David Roberts Reply

August 21, 2016 at 5:06 pm

I agree. In practice, the vast majority of the borough’s residents do not have bikes and are not able to cycle on our busy roads. This includes small children, the elderly, the one-in-two people in Guildford who commute and have to look smart, the infirm, the unfit, the obese and people accompanied by pets or carrying shopping or other goods.

Recreational cycling is great exercise, but basing a transport policy on cycling is insane. It would discriminate against these groups, which include some of the most vulnerable members of the community. It is socially unjust.
Ruth Murton Reply

August 21, 2016 at 8:11 pm

Guildford is one of the least cycle friendly towns around. There are few safe pathways and no places to secure your bike if you do take it to town shopping. It’s time to sort the traffic circulation and make it a safer place for both pedestrians and cyclists.

They could take a leaf out of Woking’s book. Other modes of transport and limited car access are actively promoted.
Shane OHara Reply

August 22, 2016 at 12:20 am

I am an avid cyclist – but would not suggest for a second that cycling is a solution to our current traffic problems in Guildford.

Having said this, Guildford tends to sit well behind the pack when it comes to acting on latest trends – introduction of cycle paths and the like.

I will not cycle to the station because if I leave a bike there I have no confidence it will be there when I arrive back from London. This simple failing means a commuter like me has to make ten car journeys in the week. One person – 10 journeys. As I understand it, around 40,000 commute from Guildford each day.

Assume just 10% could cycle if the route and safety was appealing enough. So 4000 x 10 journeys … 40,000 car trips to/from the station a week could be avoided. That’s a long queue of cars. So, cycling has a part to play… and the nice thing, it’s one of the cheapest solutions to implement.

Simple things that could be done:

1. Widen the river path – give it a cycle track… this could be beautiful. Come on Guildford. drop onto this track from the station and you can head out to Shalford – simple path improvements would mean a commute from Bramley or Wonersh areas becomes not just feasible but attractive.

2. Using the same path from station to river, provide a path past the cinema and up through the town.

There will be a seismic change in the way we travel within the next 10 years, with autonomous taxis hitting the roads within five years. Guildford could do a lot to ease the way for this over the next few years. Food for thought.

I would say, cycling routes will not solve out problems but will offer some gentle immediate relief. Far more important is to plan for the changes that are about to happen to the way we travel.
Keith Reeves Reply

August 22, 2016 at 8:35 am

I would love to see the statistics relating to cycle ownership (massively higher than David imagines I should think) and the percentage of journeys undertaken by a person accompanied by a pet. As for the incompatibility of cycling, commuting and looking smart that’s not a great hurdle to overcome as many can testify.

I don’t think that Doug Clare’s original letter suggested that cycling should be compulsory. However, David’s comments strike me as focussed on problems rather than solutions.
John Perkins Reply

August 23, 2016 at 10:02 am

One point has been missed in the comparison between Cambridge and Guildford – the former is build on flat land.

Keith Reeves would have us believe that there is no incompatibility between looking smart and cycling to work. Those of us who have been treated to the arrival at the office of a sweating colleague clad in Lycra might beg to differ.
- Bibhas Neogi Reply
  
  August 23, 2016 at 4:38 pm
  
  The fact that Guildford is a gap town has been mentioned at the very beginning of my letter.
  
  Naturally the roads in a gap town, barring those that follow the valley or the river/stream in the valley, are generally not flat. However that is not the sole criterion that determines whether the uptake of cycling in Guildford would be similar to Cambridge or other towns where cycling has proved to be successful. All approach roads to Guildford are single carriageways so there isn’t much scope for dedicated cycle lanes and without them cyclists in large numbers are not safe.
  
  No doubt cycles that have electrical assistance would ease the uphill rides but I think the demography of the population of Guildford isn’t the same as Cambridge.
  
  In general, houses are expensive in Guildford and the younger workers are forced to live away from Guildford in surrounding areas and not quite within daily cycling distances.
  
  I would hazard a guess that people in Guildford and immediate surrounding areas are in general wealthier and older and not many would be keen leave their cars and switch to cycling.
  
  Making the town centre pedestrian and cyclist friendly is possible but new bridges and tunnels are needed to radically change the currently congested roads that go through the town. Improved footways and cycle lanes approaching the town centre could then take the space vacated by traffic.