During the initial consultation on Park and Ride in Worplesdon, many questions were asked. These frequently asked questions are listed, together with the answers:
Q. What is the justification for Park and Ride?
A. Park and Ride is a stated objective in Surrey County Council’s Local Transport Plan (this page opens in a new window). Park and Ride is one of a number of transport initiatives designed to reduce traffic congestion in the town centre. There is a high demand for sites already provided
Q. What evidence is there that traffic using the A322 and A323 is heading for the town centre?
A. Roadside interview surveys have been undertaken which have identified vehicle destinations.
Q. What research has been carried out to assess the amount of existing traffic on local roads and the effect of introducing a Park and Ride development?
A. Traffic forecast assessments are carried out and these are supported through research to assess the impacts from similar developments in other towns. A traffic model of a particular scheme is prepared to assess the effects in terms of ridership and the traffic impact.
Q. Could improving school buses help in alleviating traffic congestion?
A. Improving school buses helps to alleviate traffic congestion in the vicinity of the school.
Q. Has consideration been given to rail and ride on weekends?
A. Yes, this was trialed some years ago during the Christmas period at a number of stations but there was little take up. It is generally accepted that Park and Ride schemes need a frequent service of no less than 4 buses an hour in order to be an attractive alternative to the car. More frequent services of say, 5 or 6 buses an hour are even more attractive. It is unlikely that station car parks would have sufficient spare capacity to cope with this level of demand. Adding additional trains is often impossible due to capacity constraints elsewhere on the network such as at junctions and there could be problems with platform space at origin and destination stations. In addition, fares would have to fit in with the national rail fares structure, making it more difficult to develop a reasonably priced ticket compared to a bus ticket over which the county council would have more control.
Q. Is the objective of Park and Ride to alleviate traffic congestion or generate economic growth for the town by bringing in more people to shops and restaurants etc?
A. Both are stated objectives in the strategy.
Q. What are the council doing to negotiate with Woking for a joint Park and Ride?
A. Currently Woking Borough Council are not proposing to develop Park and Ride or link with the Guildford scheme as part of their transport strategy for the town.
Q. If a Park and Ride site is built on Green Belt land, does the status of the land alter to also allow housing?
A. No. The land would remain as Green Belt where government policy does allow Park and Ride development as an exception to the normal policy to resist development. Housing would not be considered as an exception for these sites.
Q. What are the security implications?
A. The Park and Ride site developments are built to achieve the government Safer Parking Award criteria.
Q. What about environmental considerations such as lighting and landscaping?
A. The Park and Ride site developments are designed to avoid light overspill and the landscaping is carefully designed to respect the existing landscape setting.
Q. How is Park and Ride funded?
A. Generally the borough council will meet the cost of site acquisition and construction and the county council will meet the costs of the necessary road improvements using developer contributions where possible. In addition the borough council will consider provision of funds from its major capital schemes programme.
The bus services are presently subsidised by the local authorities.
Transportation Team
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
Surrey GU2 4BB
Tel: 01483 444549
Email: transport@guildford.gov.uk