Walnut Tree Close To Re-Open Temporarily To Two-Way Traffic

Published on: 15 Feb, 2021
Updated on: 17 Feb, 2021

By Hugh Coakley

The one-way trial on Walnut Tree Close in Guildford will be lifted, as planned, overnight on Wednesday, February 17 in time for works on the Walnut Bridge to start the next morning.

The one-way trial on Walnut Tree Close will be reinstated after “traffic returns to normal levels” says Surrey County Council.

The road will be closed from 8pm until 6am for the traffic management to be removed and signs and road markings to be changed.

The council councils says it intends to reinstate the trial once work on the bridge allows and “when traffic returns to normal levels”. A spokesperson for the council said that it “required the return of pre-Covid activity at the University of Surrey and Guildford station rail passengers” before a recommendation could be made on the benefits of the trial.

Cycle lanes have proved popular in the one-way trial on Walnut Tree Close.

The county council said the monitoring had shown good use by cyclists. The Guildford cycling group G-Bug, who supported the trial, had encouraged its members to use it saying: “If we don’t use it, we may lose it”. (see Pushing pedals, nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike).

The majority of responses to the trial have been supportive, the council adds.

More information can be found online at Walnut Tree Close, Guildford – One way system.

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Responses to Walnut Tree Close To Re-Open Temporarily To Two-Way Traffic

Martin Elliott Reply

February 15, 2021 at 7:44 pm

Sounds as if the decision is already made: “…before a recommendation could be made on the benefits of the trial”. No mention, let alone discussion about any drawbacks from the trial.

What about all the traffic wanting to go south to businesses and station? Has it all shifted onto Woodbridge Road which has, at the same time, been modified with extended bus lanes and new pedestrian/bike crossings?

What consideration was there, if any, for other schemes, like traffic-lights at the Woodbridge Meadows junction? That would also be useful to the SMC [sustainable movement corridor].
- K White Reply
  
  February 17, 2021 at 3:47 pm
  
  There have not been any changes to the bus lanes in Woodbridge Road up to now.
Dave Middleton Reply

February 16, 2021 at 8:01 am

This does make sense. The trial really needed to be done when traffic volumes are at a more “normal” volume. Whatever of course, the new “normal” may be.
Andy Balchin Reply

February 16, 2021 at 10:17 am

What a total waste of money.

Now they are going to remove the markings and signs and do the trial again when traffic returns to normal levels, didn’t anybody think about this before they put it in place while we were in the middle of a pandemic?

As for cyclists using the lanes designed for them, I walk along this road regularly and can count the number of cyclists I have seen on one hand; they are more likely to be encountered on the towpath or pavement.
Guy Sutlieff Reply

February 16, 2021 at 4:32 pm

I suppose we should be grateful that this particular piece of idiocy from SCC has now ended. I can’t believe that anybody with any experience of Guildford can honestly believe that either shutting or making Walnut Tree Close one way can be a good idea.

The traffic is bad enough without making it even worse. The thought of Guildford, post-pandemic with Walnut Tree Close out of action in the rush hour, is quite horrifying.
Nathan Cassidy Reply

February 18, 2021 at 3:27 pm

If you read the council statement on this scheme they not that this was requested by residents of Walnut Tree Close. I can only assume that they are sick of people rat-running through their residential street, which would be a far more pleasant place with fewer cars. There are far better routes to town.

“The traffic is bad enough without making it even worse.” The only way to reduce traffic is to reduce the number of people in cars. The way to do that is to encourage more people to cycle.

Many people like me who live in Merrow and the north or east side of Guildford want a safe way to commute to the station. If you have cycled down this road, you will find that drivers dangerously fly around the corner underneath the rail bridge, endangering any cyclist.

I thank SCC for their investment in cycling infrastructure.

We all need to start more active travel and get more cars off the road, to improve our own health, to create safer streets for our children, and to clean up our environment.