Sir, – On reading your front page article last week, I was amazed at how Surrey Highways could be reporting that, based upon results from the questionnaire issued at the "Getting About In Farnham' exhibition, 45 per cent of Farnham residents are in favour of a single lane in Downing Street.

The questionnaire did not ask for a view on the narrowing of the roads or the pedestrianisation of East Street. The nearest it got to this was in Question 11, which asked for agreement or opposition to wider pavements and pedestrian priority.

Questions 5 and 6, however, asked if the respondent was concerned about the reduction in road space for traffic and the loss of vehicle off-loading space that would result from the widening of the pavements.

One can imagine people expressing concern over these last points (who wouldn't?), but at the same time being attracted to the idea of wider pavements.

If 45 per cent of the 900

people who returned the

questionnaire are being

reported as having supported a single lane in Downing Street, 405 out of our population of over 30,000 must have put a tick in favour of wider

pavements.

I wonder how many of them appreciated that the reduced road space for traffic which wider pavements would bring about would have to handle the extra traffic which would be generated by the East Street redevelopment, and that the narrowing works are likely to take place before effective improvements to the A31 bypass are made.

There are no clues in the questionnaire to these points.

I'm sorry if I sound cynical, but designing Question 11 as a choice on pavement widths only appears to suit the tactics of those who, knowing that the idea of a single lane in Downing Street (and The Borough) is very unpopular, are exploiting pavement widths as a means of promoting their plan to make traffic congestion in the town so bad that drivers will go elsewhere.

Our pavements can be improved by means other than widening.

Eric Boyle

Old Compton Lane, Farnham