Letter: What Do Walnut Tree Close Residents and Pedestrians Think of the One-way Trial?

Published on: 21 Nov, 2022
Updated on: 21 Nov, 2022

From: Martin Elliott

In response to: G-BUG Supports The Walnut Tree Close One-Way Trial – Will You?

The point of the trial, I hope, will be fully covered in a report by SCC before any permanent decision.

This article only expresses the benefits of the trial for most cyclists and comments mention the usual drawback that road surfaces and furniture are not maintained causing damage to bikes.

I believe the majority of signatures of the initial petition were from residents, but I’ve seen no comments on their feelings of the pros and cons. Are they the same? And what about pedestrians who use that route?

Then there are vehicles. Not just private but commercial ones like taxis or delivery vans. Does the drawback of extra traffic on Woodbridge Road balance against cyclists’ benefits?

The real problem surely is that whilst GBC still pushes a dogma of Modal Shift, for the whole of Guildford Borough to function requires a decreased level of traffic of a magnitude which is not acknowledged. Instead, it is claimed that the town centre could operate on 20 per cent less traffic. So where do the 20 per cent go?

Maybe some modern development, like Kingston, is needed.