Letter: The Capacity of London Road is Limited by its Width

Published on: 22 Jul, 2023
Updated on: 22 Jul, 2023

From: Victor Howarth

In response to: £4.2m for the London Road Cycle Lane is Absurd

It is hard to think that what is called London Road was at one time part of the main road from Portsmouth to London and the road from Guildford to London, hence its name. Its pathway through the area now called Burpham was not designed to take present-day traffic, so new roads were built and had to use the spare space around Guildford.

The still-called London Road in Burpham continues to follow the historical pathway through a much more built-up part of the country that has been developed incrementally over hundreds of years. No longer is that road carrying traffic from Portsmouth to London and now its width is just the space between houses, shops and schools.

The road is limited by its width. What has developed over the years is already congested at times by all who need to travel on it, so creating its own speed limit. The idea of making it wider is impossible; the space for all vehicles is limited and already has cycle lanes. Why is there the need to change it?