Letter: The Clay Lane Link Road Is Not The Answer

Published on: 5 Oct, 2015
Updated on: 5 Oct, 2015

Signs proclaiming ‘No Link Road’ on a fence in Clay Lane, Jacobs Well.

From Frank Phillipson

I am writing in response to the debate on the Clay Lane Link Road.

The A320 Woking Road is only really a problem in capacity terms in the vicinity of its inadequate signal controlled junction with Slyfield Industrial Estate. The A320 coming from the A3, has mostly now been routed away from housing between Stoughton Road and Hazel Avenue.

Ideally the A320 should be improved from Hazel Avenue to the Woking borough boundary where an up to date standard of road commences. This would allow the highly dangerous acute junction with Burdenshott Road to be realigned and other minor improvements made.

The problem at the Woking Road/Moorfield Road, junction is that improvements to the traffic light controlled junction have never been carried out.

These were tabled by Surrey County Council in 1998 and December 2003 (see: http://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/Data/Guildford%20Local%20Committee/20031218/Agenda/Item%2012%20A320%20Woking%20Rd%20junction%20with%20Moorfield%20Rd.pdf)

Instead of addressing the problem with the A320 junction, highlighted in the above report, GBC are going for the more “sexy” new “link road” which is much more likely to attract publicity, investment and new companies to Slyfield Industrial Estate (owned by GBC).

However, the link road would not address the continuing need to use the existing A320 junction which is nearer the town centre and other areas of Guildford. That junction is likely to remain being used by the majority of the people wanting to visit the large number of car showrooms and other traders on the estate.

There is also no compulsion on HGVs, lorries and vans etc, to use the new link road and they will also use the existing junction if it’s convenient.

The link road is likely to become a through route from Clay Lane to the A320, cutting off the existing “corner” using Jacobs Well Road which has no signal controlled junction on to the Woking Road. It is highly undesirable to attract through traffic on to Moorfield Road which has parking along both sides and has numerous accesses and road junctions with limited visibility due to the parked vehicles.

There is also the hazard of drivers searching to find companies’ addresses on the estate which can distract them from concentrating on other road users.

The long straight of Moorfield Road directly from the A320 appears to encourage drivers to drive at fairly high speeds, a situation that would not be improved with additional through traffic.

In Clay Lane the double bend to the west of Burpham Court Farm entrance to the bridge over the River Wey is unsuitable to be used for increased traffic. It appears that this section is of the original road alignment and was not improved when the sections either side were upgraded.

The northern fence line in this vicinity appears to have been realigned but with the road realignment not taking place. There have been at least two fatal accidents at this location to my knowledge.

The link road will attract HGVs through Burpham off of the A3 southbound along London Road and Clay Lane. There is already congestion at the roundabout junction of Clay Lane with London Road which additional traffic would add to. Clay Lane then passes a children’s play area and a nearby junior school, places where it is not ideal to have additional HGVs passing.

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