Knaphill Residents' Association c/o 68 Broadway Knaphill, Woking Surrey GU21 2RH
Date: 28 July 2017
Geoff McManus Assistant Director Woking Borough Council Gloucester Square Woking GU21 6YL
Dear Mr. McManus,
Bagshot Road Improvements - Consultation
The following report represents the collective views of the Residents’ Association Committee views.
We do not see this as a single standalone project but several projects and in commenting we have packaged the proposals into groups.
Broadway/Redding Way
The barriers have been broken for a few years and the cost to restore them was given as £35,000. We believe that you could not just remove the no entry sign and officially open the road to all traffic. So, to do nothing is not an option.
We are given to understand that the barriers were a planning condition on the construction of Redding Way and the houses on the old hospital site and if this is the case then Woking Borough Council will have to submit a planning application for their removal and at that stage the Council will have to give good commercial/operation reasons for the change.
From the maps, the road coming off Redding Way from Sainsbury’s the curve has been changed by taking land from the Vyne.
The map does not show any changes to the junction of the spur road and the Broadway, buses have problems manoeuvring round this corner will this lead to more general problems?
Concern: - The car park is currently divided into two parts with two separate entrances. That half of the car park with its entrance off Alexandra Gardens is heavily used as a staff car park for the two private hospitals on Redding Way, Cygnet Hospital and Cygnet Lodge. It is important that if the two car parks are joined space must be protected for visitors to the Vyne and the doctor’s surgery.
Missing from the plans are pedestrian crossings. There is a need for two, one from the pedestrian entrance of the car park to the Vyne and a second one crossing Redding Way close to the surgery end of The Vyne. This second crossing is for both pedestrians going to the surgery and parents plus children going to and from the Knaphill schools. Knaphill Residents' Association c/o 68 Broadway Knaphill, Woking Surrey GU21 2RH
Date: 28 July 2017
Given the location of this proposed change and the pedestrian traffic the proposals should undergo an independent safety audit.
There should be a weight limit on vehicles that can use the spur road and this must be clearly indicated.
Brookwood Crossroads
The data produced for the planning application to develop Brookwood Farm showed that twice as much traffic approached the crossroads on the A322 when compared to the A324 yet the proposal is the widening of the A324 at the crossroads to provide left turn filters.
Concern: - Currently as the A322 approaches the crossroads the road widens to two lanes with the outside lane for traffic turning right and the inside lane for traffic either turning left or going straight ahead. The length of the two lanes is limited by both the canal and the railway bridge. The proposal appears to be that the outside lane will be for both traffic turning right or going straight ahead with the left lane for traffic turning left. We know that traffic light systems have advanced but we must question how this change of lane use will improve the flow of traffic on the A322.
Redding Way/Bagshot Road Broadway/Bagshot Road Chobham Road/Bagshot Road Limecroft Road/Bagshot Road
The proposed changes will mean that there will only be two junctions where traffic can leave the A322 for Knaphill; Redding Way and Limecroft Road. There are no proposed changes or widening of the carriage way for traffic going north. We understand that there was an earlier proposal to widen the carriageway of the A322 going north at the Limecroft Road but we have been given to understand that this part of the proposal has been dropped because of an objection from Surrey Heath Council.
For traffic going south the proposal is to widen the A322 between the junction with the Broadway and Redding Way to allow three lanes, the inside lane is for traffic turning left into Sainsbury’s the middle lane for traffic going ahead and the right-hand lane for traffic turning right into Brookwood Farm. We assume that through traffic can use two lanes rather than just the one as shown on the map.
Given the amount of traffic turning into Knaphill can the two junctions cope without creating new congestion black spots especially at the Limecroft junction given that there is no proposed change or extension to the carriageway.
If these proposals go ahead then we will see a significant increase in traffic trying to manoeuvre across the Garibaldi crossroads. All traffic wanting to enter that section of Chobham Road between A322 and Limecroft Road/High Street will have to turn at the Garibaldi crossroads. It must be remembered that there are the entrances to two schools on this section of Chobham Road. The traffic coming from Bisley and West End going towards Woking turn left at Limecroft Road and Knaphill Residents' Association c/o 68 Broadway Knaphill, Woking Surrey GU21 2RH
Date: 28 July 2017
either straight ahead at the Garibaldi or turns left towards Chobham Road and Barrs Lane and this traffic is increasing with the increased development in the areas listed.
Conclusion
The opening of the Vyne spur road should only be allowed if an independent safety audit states that it produces a safe environment for both vehicles and pedestrians. High standard pedestrian crossings need to be incorporated into the plan.
Brookwood crossroads; - the proposal appears to assist Brookwood residents and those using Brookwood Lye Road but it does not address the congestion problems on the A322. The counties highways authority will have to return to the congestion problems on the A322.
Redding Way crossroads; - the proposal to widen the A322 going south between Broadway junction and Redding Way should have been part of the plan on the development of Brookwood Farm.
Broadway, Chobham Road junctions; - it is difficult to see how the proposed changes to these junctions will improve the flow of traffic on the A322 but if there is no widening of the A322 at the Limecroft Road junction the proposal will create a new congestion black spot given the amount of traffic wanting to turn right at the junction. The proposed changes to the junction of the A322 and the Broadway and Chobham Road should be dropped from the plan.
Yours sincerely
Phil Stubbs Knaphill Residents’ Association cc John Butler chairman Knaphill Residents’ Association