Opinion: We Must Plan To Deal with Guildford Gridlock

Published on: 17 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 18 Jun, 2025

A281 closure – diverted vehicles means traffic can be non-stop on the A3100 Portsmouth Road

By John Rigg

Chair of the Guildford Vision Group (GVG)

Guildford really can’t go on much longer without a plan to deal with traffic in and around town.

The recent single-vehicle accident, just south of Guildford in Shalford, has caused widespread and extended disruption across the borough. Both lanes of the A281 remain closed while checks and remedial works take place. Circuitous diversions are bringing long delays to otherwise short journeys

The ripple effect is considerable; hours of delays, missed work, missed appointments, wasted fuel, and frayed nerves.

This is not a one-off for Guildford. All too often road incidents in and around the town bring everything to a halt, with the consequent damage to the local economy, not to mention the impact on residents’ lives. INRIX, the UK traffic data company, regularly has had Guildford in the top 10 of the UK’s most gridlocked town, and even No 1.

The ripple effect – traffic jam in Halfpenny Lane

How Do We Mend the System?

GVG has long predicted the scenario where gridlock grinds down the local economy. It has consistently argued for a coordinated, long-term infrastructure and transport masterplan.

We need to deal with traffic better. “Shaping Guildford’s Future’, the council’s emerging masterplan, offers some options. If the council adopted the masterplan formally, it might help provide the impetus for change.

The Impact of the Housing Target Uplift

With 20,000+ houses now in prospect the situation is only going to get more debilitating. There will be an inevitable increase in car numbers.

The increase will have particular impact on Guildford and its overstretched roads, with its gap town pinchpoints and narrow traffic lanes plus inadequate river and rail crossings. Even a conservative car figure – say, 10,000 – will strain the system beyond its limits.

Waverley faces similar growth, with many of its commuters travelling via Guildford. No new road capacity is planned, and no confirmed investment in wider transport infrastructure.

Who’s Going to Act?

How have we got here? GVG and resident groups like the Guildford Society continue to press for proper planning.

Something fundamental is going wrong where, for example, the basic essentials, of getting to and from work and other key destinations, are collapsing and simply not prioritised by the relevant authorities.

There seems to be no ambition to help our commuting workforce, and plenty of actions ready and waiting to hinder. Rail is no better due to poor services and discouraging ticket pricing. It encourages people to go by car, compounding the traffic issues. Bus usage is patchy and is also impacted by the tentacles of the gyratory.

Conclusion: If You Don’t Demand Better, You Won’t Get Better

Voters need to decide if they’re happy to remain ambivalent about decline or whether to demand change.

At the moment it seems most residents choose ambivalence.  But civic disengagement leads directly to civil dysfunction.

Guildford will continue with infrastructure deterioration if that is what residents and businesses accept from local elected representatives and bureaucracy.

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