The borough council announced yesterday that “Works will start shortly implementing a package of transport improvement measures for the A30 and Camberley town centre highway network to maintain bus reliability, improve accessibility in and around the town centre, and improve peak hour delays on the A30.”
We wrote about the proposed improvements last February and showed what we thought they involved. We’re reproducing much of what we wrote then below.
(What seems to be a minor change since February is that the bus lane removal will extend to Grand Avenue rather than Lower Charles Street. A MAJOR change is that the remaining stretch of bus lane will – on a trial basis – be closed to other traffic all day, every day.
The work is predicted to take eight months. Only fifteen months ago, a larger scheme costing twice as much was predicted to have been completed by the start of 2021…)
The proposals include installing a pedestrian crossing across the north end of Knoll Road, adjusting the A30/Lower Charles Street junction to make it easier for buses to negotiate, and widening the north end of the Frimley Road. We remember that widening the Frimley Road was one of the planning conditions imposed on the developers of the former Duke of York hotel there. This was lifted when the county council agreed that the developers could make a payment to it instead.
Removal of the bus lane further west down the A30 is dependent on changes to the restrictions on parking bays there.
We laugh ironically at the proposed removal of the bus lane between Park Street and Lower Charles Street. This will make life a little more difficult for cyclists. The ‘official’ cycle lane on that stretch of road requires cyclists to dismount while they pass a bus shelter on a narrow length of pavement. So cyclists use the bus lane instead…. Yet one aim is: “To enhance the quality and use of … cycling..”
It’s also a bit ironic that “the proposed improvements will improve traffic flow on the A30”. Yet the borough council’s vision of the future of the A30 in Camberley shows people strolling across it although it’s already a race-track at certain times of day.
…also not sure how making part of the bus Lane 24 hour per day, 7 day per week enhances traffic flow. I also hope that the bus lane at the junction of the A 30 and the Avenue is altered to ensure safer last turning off of the A30 onto the Avenue.
I dont know why they dont take land off the Military Academy – thay have vast swathes of grass and open land they dont need adajcent to the A30 they could use to make the A30 3 lanes each way and some additional parking.
Joy of joys. Now that the major roadworks on the A30 that have blighted the road for so long seem to be drawing to a conclusion new works are to start to continue the misery of trying to negotiate around Camberley.
I bet the ‘improvents’ include mucking about with the Knoll Road traffic lights which have worked brilliantly since SCC installed traffic monitors some years ago. The bus lane also worked well.
Pretty sure that making the bus lane approaching the Frimley Road traffic lights 24 hour will only increase the traffic queues. Why change something that is working at present?
Well, in fairness to the council, it will be an experimental change. If it doesn’t work, then….
Its ironic that there is significant use of the word “ironic” in so many communications about SHBC actions compared to previous plans. It would be ironic if the new plans by SHBC for the 2020 A30 developments bear any relation to the original proposals and plans!!