A244 Esher Road - Pedestrian and Active Travel Improvements

Overview

On 25 June 2020, Surrey County Council was granted funding by the government to implement emergency schemes to promote alternative ways to travel such as walking and cycling.  The Government’s Active Travel Scheme provided an opportunity to deliver a scheme on the A244 Esher Road.  The scheme was originally promoted by Elmbridge Local Committee, following a fatal incident involving a pedestrian, who was trying to cross the road.  The Elmbridge Local Committee is where local councillors meet to discuss and decide on many of the issues that matter to you and the people who live, work or study nearby.

At the time there was funding for investigation and design, but there was no available funding to construct a scheme.

The main objectives of the scheme are to provide three new pedestrian crossings to improve safety significantly, and to encourage drivers to abide by the speed limit.  A secondary objective of the scheme is to improve the cycle lanes, by making them wider and providing separation between the cycle lanes and traffic. 

In order to provide three new pedestrian crossings, in July 2020, the running lanes on the A244 Esher Road, between the Barley Mow and Princess Alice roundabouts were reduced from two to one in each direction.  This prompted a divided response from the community with many people expressing their support for the scheme.  A petition with over 2,624 signatures was arranged calling for an alternative scheme to be implemented instead.

The progression of the scheme was paused at the end of August 2020 to enable the new road layout to be trialled before a decision was taken on the installation of the pedestrian crossings.

Over the next few months, tests and observations were conducted by both local councillors and Surrey County Council Highways Service Officers and in November 2020, a report detailing the findings, was presented to The Local Committee for Elmbridge. 

The full report details can be found by downloading the following PDF: https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/documents/s73308/Item%2007%20Petition%204%20A244%20Esher%20Road.pdf

Observations during this trial suggested that the scheme had no significant adverse impact in terms of congestion compared to the previous layout of the A244 Esher Road and the committee was asked to approve the completion of the scheme with the construction of three pedestrian crossings.

The three pedestrian crossings have been in place since January 2021, and Surrey County Council is carrying out this consultation to seek your views on the changes that have been made.

We would therefore be grateful if you could spare the time to complete the short questionnaire by 18 February 2022, when this consultation will close.  The information gathered from this consultation will be presented to the Elmbridge Local Committee, where a decision will be made on whether to keep the changes or make further adaptations. 

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Email: research@surreycountycouncil.gov.uk
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