Engagement report - Guildford County School road safety proposal

Thank you to everyone who took time to share their views on the proposed road safety scheme outside Guildford County School in Farnham Road, Guildford. We value your involvement and the feedback provided.

Overall, respondent feedback demonstrates very strong support for the proposals that have been put forward. This support is overwhelmingly driven by concerns for the pupil's safety.

Relatively, the negative comments were limited and mainly focussed on the design, location and operation of the scheme rather than opposing its safety objectives.

Improving child safety was the dominant theme through the responses. Many respondents cited near-misses, unsafe crossing behaviour and concerns of a potential serious accident without intervention. There was widespread support for wider footways to reduce overcrowding and to prevent pedestrians being forced into the carriageway at busy times. Many of the respondents noted the benefits to the wider community that this scheme would offer, while others were pleased with how the scheme could encourage more active travel and reduce reliance on car journeys.

Of the concerns that were raised, the majority focussed on increasing congestion and delays, and traffic potentially spilling out into neighbouring residential roads as a result. Some felt that the current facilities were adequate, or that the wrong location for a crossing had been selected. These matters have been carefully considered and are addressed within the officer responses.

Taking into account both the concerns raised, and the strong safety benefits identified for school pupils, pedestrians and wheelchair and mobility scooter users, Surrey County Council considers that the scheme will deliver meaningful improvements to the pedestrian environment and will support safer, more sustainable travel choices. 

The scheme has the support of the county councillor.

This scheme will now proceed to the detailed design phase and will be ready for implementation by West Surrey Council should this new authority decide to progress this scheme. It is important to mention that budgets and priorities for Road Safety Schemes are yet to be decided by West Surrey Council, and so timelines cannot be conveyed at this time.

To read the full report please click here;

https://media-assets-eng.zencity.io/builder-documents/311e2c76-6775-4cca-babc-52a2a8216e81-1793238649826-4cca-babc-52a2a8216e81-1793238649454-hlsuvwe53teowvqrwjzv.pdf