Letter: We Can’t Afford This Traffic Disruption at Christmas

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

From Joss Bigmore

Leader of the Residents for Guildford and Villages at Guildford Borough Council

See also: Residents Angry at Detours and Delays by Road-Works on One Tree Hill Road 

Probably like most men, it’s normally Christmas Eve before the rising panic of not having bought a single gift forces me onto the cobbles of the High Street.  This year I was determined to be better planned but I found myself thwarted by the accumulation of roadworks south of Guildford.

One Tree Hill is closed because of essential gas-main works, there are temporary traffic lights on the A281 because of a collapsed wall, and we have another traffic contraflow on the A3100 due to hedge-trimming.

Now all this may seem unfortunate, certainly the wall collapsing is an unforeseen occurrence, but the pile of rubble has been there for days (presumably while Surrey County Council tries to avoid paying for the clean-up).

Doesn’t it seem a bit lacking in Christmas cheer for Highways Cllr Matt Furniss not to try to expedite clearing this up?  In all honesty, the pile of rubble is pretty unimpressive and wouldn’t take a lot to move. If this is not possible, surely delaying the hedge-cutting on the A3100 would be a sensible course of action

I really don’t want to sound like a Grinch but given the gasworks on One Tree Hill are going to run over by a month (double the planned disruption), with the contractors given two weeks off over Christmas supposedly for the benefit of residents (no-one asked us, nor any of the local councillors), surely we need to see some sense of urgency or flexibility in the other southern access routes to the town?

Our retailers make most of their money in the run-up to Christmas. We need to make it as easy as possible for people to come and spend their hard-earned money in Guildford.

It may seem easy for me and others to criticise the county council and Cllr Furniss.  I’m sure he is doing his best, but it’s a huge job and it’s not clear what experience or qualifications he has to succeed in that role.  A realisation that Guildford is at maximum traffic capacity so any works need to be carefully coordinated would be a good place to start the New Year.

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