Active travel program canceled due to safety concerns

A £6 million active travel program that would have helped Surrey reach net zero targets in Guildford has been rejected over concerns that cyclists would endanger the safety of pedestrians.

A new cycling and shared pedestrian scheme along London Road in Burpham had been recommended for approval and has been backed by the province’s top highways and environment members.

Surrey County Council has applied for funding from Active Travel England to build separate pedestrian and cycle paths.

But the plan has been rejected on safety grounds, with opponents saying the narrow routes would put cyclists in conflict with pedestrians and leave little room for trucks.

It received the support of Guildford MP Zoe Franklin and several ward councillors, such as George Potter, who argued that the project, while not perfect, was a significant improvement on the current layout. This is reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The politicians said the currently unsafe road and paths are putting people off walking and cycling, causing more traffic jams along the main route to and from Guildford town centre.

Others disagreed, saying the plan would have put pedestrians and cyclists in direct conflict with each other, deterred vulnerable people from using public transport and – at the narrowest part – created tight bottlenecks.

Ultimately, opponents won, with Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver saying a line had now been drawn under the case, which had been in the planning stages for two years.

Yasmin Broome, on behalf of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People, told the council that cyclists continued to travel too quickly and chaotically along London Road.

She said: “Please keep our disabled community safe and stop these proposals.”