Carriageway Width: In their letter to residents Surrey CC make the claim: “In addition, we are no longer proposing to narrow the width of the road to six metres, instead the road will remain the same width as it is currently” – This is not correct; there are many lengths where the installation of cycle tracks (with a kerb separating it from the vehicle carriageway) will mean that the road width is less than it is currently.
Actual distribution of widths are now found on Surrey CC's website: London Road, Burpham - Active Travel Scheme - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk). Their statement that a 6.5 metre width means it exceeds 6.5 metres has to be taken with more than a pinch of salt! There is a total of 365 metres where the width is less than 6.5 metres.
One of the pinch points in the carriageway has been accurately measured by LRAG. If dimensions on published drawings for the widths of the shared pedestrian and cycle paths at these points are accurate at 1.9 metres, then here the carriageway width can be no greater than 3.1 metres.
The permitted overall width of HGV’s, and wide vehicles generally, is 2.95 metres to the wing mirrors, which means that the wing mirrors of HGV’s and buses travelling in opposite directions would miss each other by only 15 cm (6 inches). These carriageways are nominally far too narrow for that recommended for an urban A road carrying buses and HGV’s, which should normally be expected to be 3.65 metres. However, despite these narrow pinch-points having existed successfully for years, the effect of any further narrowing may increase risk.
Scroll to the end to see what 3.25 metre carriageways actually look like.
Buses: There are no laybys at bus stops which means all traffic will be held up behind buses and unable to pass at the bus stops. Nor is there any room for central reservations for cars turning right which is another possible cause of congestion at peak periods.
Pedestrians waiting at the bus stop are not separated from cyclists.
Parallel Crossings (Cycle paths besides pedestrian crossings): The introduction of parallel crossings at the roundabouts at Woodruff Avenue and New Inn Lane contradicts the advice of the Cycle Embassy of Great Britain which states that parallel crossings should never be used to link sections of shared pavement, and, although these crossings are fundamental to the concept of the cycle route, they are likely, in practice, to cause further congestion due to stationary traffic on these roundabouts.
Effects of Design on Flow of Vehicles: The Traffic Modelling report states: " “The scheme reduces vehicle (road) capacity … increases delay to vehicles … so, (causes) fewer vehicles (to) travel …”; “flow increases on alternative routes including the A3, A320, A322, A246 and B2234. There are also some impacts on residential streets such as Nightingale Road” (LRAG also predicts effects on Winterhill Way, Glendale Drive, New Inn Lane, Epsom Road, Tormead Road, Cranley Road, & others).
These are the potential factors that will influence the maintenance of traffic flow:
What Does a 3.25 metre Carriageway Actually Look Like? Replace the cycle lane white line with a kerb and that is it!
Actual distribution of widths are now found on Surrey CC's website: London Road, Burpham - Active Travel Scheme - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk). Their statement that a 6.5 metre width means it exceeds 6.5 metres has to be taken with more than a pinch of salt! There is a total of 365 metres where the width is less than 6.5 metres.
One of the pinch points in the carriageway has been accurately measured by LRAG. If dimensions on published drawings for the widths of the shared pedestrian and cycle paths at these points are accurate at 1.9 metres, then here the carriageway width can be no greater than 3.1 metres.
The permitted overall width of HGV’s, and wide vehicles generally, is 2.95 metres to the wing mirrors, which means that the wing mirrors of HGV’s and buses travelling in opposite directions would miss each other by only 15 cm (6 inches). These carriageways are nominally far too narrow for that recommended for an urban A road carrying buses and HGV’s, which should normally be expected to be 3.65 metres. However, despite these narrow pinch-points having existed successfully for years, the effect of any further narrowing may increase risk.
Scroll to the end to see what 3.25 metre carriageways actually look like.
Buses: There are no laybys at bus stops which means all traffic will be held up behind buses and unable to pass at the bus stops. Nor is there any room for central reservations for cars turning right which is another possible cause of congestion at peak periods.
Pedestrians waiting at the bus stop are not separated from cyclists.
Parallel Crossings (Cycle paths besides pedestrian crossings): The introduction of parallel crossings at the roundabouts at Woodruff Avenue and New Inn Lane contradicts the advice of the Cycle Embassy of Great Britain which states that parallel crossings should never be used to link sections of shared pavement, and, although these crossings are fundamental to the concept of the cycle route, they are likely, in practice, to cause further congestion due to stationary traffic on these roundabouts.
Effects of Design on Flow of Vehicles: The Traffic Modelling report states: " “The scheme reduces vehicle (road) capacity … increases delay to vehicles … so, (causes) fewer vehicles (to) travel …”; “flow increases on alternative routes including the A3, A320, A322, A246 and B2234. There are also some impacts on residential streets such as Nightingale Road” (LRAG also predicts effects on Winterhill Way, Glendale Drive, New Inn Lane, Epsom Road, Tormead Road, Cranley Road, & others).
These are the potential factors that will influence the maintenance of traffic flow:
- reduction of carriageway width, where it removes central passing space at right-turns,
- buses that stop in the highway. leaving little or no remaining passing space apart from crossing to the oncoming carriageway,
- additional pedestrian crossings at all junctions,
- cyclists' priority at a Dutch-style Boxgrove roundabout, against traffic both entering and exiting the roundabout.
- proficient cyclists using the carriageway because of pedestrians and slower cyclists preventing progress on shared paths and narrow segregated tracks.
What Does a 3.25 metre Carriageway Actually Look Like? Replace the cycle lane white line with a kerb and that is it!