By Neill Barston

PROPOSALS for one-way systems in Downing Street and The Borough, together with a by-pass upgrade, form part of a £3 million, five-year package of Surrey County Council plans to deal with growing traffic problems in Farnham.

The plans were unveiled at the Maltings exhibition this week, in which thousands of questionnaires were distributed, to encorage the participation of residents in the decision making process.

In Downing Street and The Borough, wider footpaths are proposed for 2002, with a single-lane scheme having a traffic light system at the junction with West Street, replacing the pelican crossing currently located outside Boots the Chemist.

It is proposed that East Street becomes a pedestrian priority area, with access limited to buses and taxis.

Traffic will, instead, use a two-way system at the rear of the Woolmead.

For the first time in a exhibition of this type, the re-generation of East Street area was addressed in terms of the traffic implications of any development.

Single-lane proposals for Downing Street have triggered massive criticism in the past, but Surrey hopes that a combination of 60 identified traffic measures will result in a far safer, pedestrian-friendly town centre.

The A31 bypass will receive an additional westbound lane under Firgrove Hill Bridge within the next five years, which the council believe will be vital in stemming traffic coming into the town centre.

John Hilder, of Surrey County Council environment department, said:"There are serious road safety problems in Farnham, people and traffic are too close together, and pedestrians are being injured as a result.

"It is necessary to give people more room to reduce the likelihood of them being hit by passing traffic."

He said he expected to see an increase in traffic volumes in the initial phases if the scheme were to go ahead, but that driving habits would soon change once people realised it would take them longer to get through Farnham town centre.

He felt that the planned by-pass upgrade, balanced with checks on traffic in the town centre, would be of long-term benefit to the town.

Regarding the exhibition optimistically, he concluded: "It was good to see so many people coming along and taking an active interest.

"We have tried very hard to get news of the exhibition out to everyone."

He concluded that the results of the questionnaires given to those attending the exhibition would be analysed over the next two months, and a report on its findings would then be produced.

It was also his belief that if the traffic situation were left to simply get worse, the town would suffer economically as people would use alternative shopping facilities in Aldershot and Guildford, at the expense of Farnham.

Some concern was voiced by Stuart Palmer, of Elphicks department store, who said he wished to see the town centre free of congestion, but was not convinced the county council proposals would work.

"This is an idealistic idea, I do not believe you can look at it in isolation without looking at public transport as well - cycling is an alternative, but only a small percentage of people do so."

He did believe the bypass traffic lights had been helpful in relieving traffic volumes.

Mike Murphy, of Wrecclesham Residents Association and The Farnham Society, felt that none of the measures proposed in the exhibition would solve traffic congestion in the town, and that the example of Lyndhurst as a model used by the county council, was not sufficiently comparable to Farnham.

p The traffic measures proposed for the next two years in the town include:

n A pelican crossing at Upper Hale

n South Street/ Victoria Road traffic signs

n Park-and-walk car schemes designed to reduce congestion

n Weydon Lane safe routes to schools initiative

n cycle schemes

n wider footways in Downing Street and Borough (see pictures Page 3).

n controlled parking zones

n loading bays for lorries in the town centre.

The Getting About Farnham Exhibition is now available on the web, at www. surreycc.gov.uk/farnham, as are the questionnaires to contribute your views to the plans, which must be registered by August 17.

p You may also write to The Herald with your views.