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Under construction
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| Godalming High Street on a normal sunny day... |
Map
Godalming High Street, narrow as it is, until about 1991 used to be part of the main route for traffic travelling south out of Guildford, and vice versa. For some thirty years plans had been made and changed about how to re-route the traffic, which regularly had pedestrians at risk of injury from lorry wing mirrors overhanging a very narrow pavement. So eventually plans for a relief road, Flambard Way, were put into action. The new road was to run roughly parallel to the High Street and about 80m to the south eastern side. It wasn't painless; several old buildings had to be demolished and adjoining roads rerouted.
Once the new road was open, the old road was rebuilt with wider pavements, road tables to deter fast traffic and various colours of stone sets to give a more attractive appearance. Cycle stands of the Sheffield style were included, and with the narrower road traffic was designated as one way only.
The government culture of the late 1980s, when the details of the plan were fixed, was rather different from 2003. Margaret Thatcher was still in power, and little allowance was made for non-motorised transport in road schemes. The local CTC group wrote an imaginative document suggesting provisions for cycle access in the rebuilt centre, but it was completely ignored. Ironically, in 2003 its proposals seem not radical but the sort of practice that would almost be part of normal planning. So, the rebuilding went ahead, with new stands as the only cycle concession.
More to come...
Public Inquiry full report (pdf file) February 2001 on pedestrian priority - see pages 6, 8-10, 12 & 13 for the cycle issues.
Report (pdf file) of the Cycle Forum in July 2001 on how to improve cycle access to the town centre and surroundings.
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Page last updated 27 March 2005 by Webmaster.