THE GUILDFORD SOCIETY
Two-Way Gyratory for Guildford.
Benefits of a Two-Way Gyratory for Guildford.
A. The Proposal.
The gyratory system is currently saturated, principally because most of its users need to travel clockwise round three of its four sides in order to reach their desired exit. Source and destination data recorded by SCC in 2005 showed that almost half the northbound traffic from the A281 joining at Millbrook exited at Onslow Street. Similarly about one third of the traffic approaching from the Farnham Road was destined for Millbrook southbound and it is unlikely to be very different today.
Creating an anti-clockwise flow from Walnut Tree Close round to the Bridge Street/Onslow Street junction, leaving only Bridge Street one-way, would reduce the volume of traffic in Bridge Street by at least two thirds and make better use of the road space elsewhere around the system. It should then be possible to avoid any right turns from Bridge Street, however northbound Millbrook traffic would then need to be allowed to turn right into High Street.
In summary, the effects, based on the 2005 data (in am peak vehicles/hour), would be:
Reduce traffic in Bridge Street by at least 720 >66%
Reduce total traffic on Friary Bridge by at least 420 >39%
Reduce total traffic in Lower Farnham Rd. by up to 240 <25%
Increase total traffic in Onslow St. between
Bridge St. and Friary Bridge by less than 240 <62%
B. Net effect of A on buses.
The recent report by MVA Consultants shows that 35 buses per hour travel down Bridge Street at peak times, of which 10 originate from Millbrook. With the two-way system proposed above, these Millbrook buses would avoid three sides of the gyratory, thus reducing bus numbers down Bridge Street from 35 to 25 or some 30%.
Current data and appropriate traffic modelling would need to be used to develop the most effective gyratory junction arrangements, including the impact of providing access to the proposed new bus station in Bedford Road. (see Diagram 2 under the proposal).
November 2011