A possible solution to easing the traffic on Knaphill High Street and Anchor Hill is to remove the bollards by The Vyne roundabout and direct more traffic round Redding Way. The single set of bollards currently working creates a dangerous situation with traffic passing in both directions on the open side of the road. The original raison d’etre for this road was to be one of the main routes off the planned bypass and the new houses on Brookwood Farm estate, which did not happen. Late in the debate on Brookwood Farm, it was decided to open Sparvell Road to Brookwood Farm traffic, which has a direct knock-on effect for traffic using Chobham Road, High Street and Anchor Hill.
Currently the only advice from SCC is to cycle, walk or use public transport more. The Government promised improvements to the infrastructure as well as new developments and funds to be made available for such improvements, but neither have yet been forthcoming for Knaphill.
In the past there have been several debates on the pros and cons of the bollards. Given the changed circumstances since they were originally installed, is it time to think again about whether to remove them? Let us have your opinions please, either on our website or by e-mail to the Residents’ Association (secretary@knaphill.org).
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myKnaphill 
Broadway traffic and parking is already bad and greater use of the Vyne cut-through will increase the traffic volume but the traffic flow is vary restricted by parking on the road. (Have you been there when the Dominos delivery arrives? – can be chaos) This could be sorted by banning parking on the broadway (but would need to think of disabled access).
Also, getting out of the roads onto Redding Way, particularly Alexandra Gardens would become much more difficult.
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These bollards constantly need maintenance and are out of action for several weeks at a time. They should never been erected in the first instance.
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Being a resident of Brookwood development, the placement of the bollards have always been a source of frustration as my daily commute takes me down Anchor Hill. The alternatives (straight on at Sainsburys or via Hermitage roundabout) add time and the traffic lights at the top of Anchor Hill are not weighted correctly – but that’s a different matter.
As Anna Stracey has pointed out, the maintenance of them should also be questioned…… just how much do they ‘cost’?
One last point. Do the emergency services have a ‘swipe’ card or equivalent for these bollards or do are they required to also detour?
Remove them please!
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Whichever is chosen, they either need to work or not – reliably. IMHO connecting Knaphilll Village (older) with Knaphill Village (newer) would be good.
But some enforcement of parking on Broadway esp. would help. I once asked the traffic warden watching and apparently ignoring people park outside the co-op why he didn’t ticket them. Apparently they have to wait 5 minutes… Either it’s no parking or it’s not – “5 minutes causing a jam is OK, but 6 isn’t” doesn’t work.
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the bollards should never gone up a large majority voted against them but they were put up anyway it causes more traffic on lower Guilford road and anchor hill get rid of them
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Notwithstanding that the bollards are consistently in a state of repair due to them failing (which no doubt costs the County Council, and therefore us taxpayers money to consistently have them under contract for repair and maintenance), the original reason the County Council quotes as requiring them, to prevent a health and safety issue of traffic turning onto the Broadway from Redding Way, is made completely non-sensical by the fact that on the Broadway side of the The Vyne is a 100+ space car park which is heavily used and which poses the same risk to traffic turning onto the Broadway as the traffic that would come off Redding Way. If there was an issue with Health & Safety, then why build a 100+ space car park there?
Secondly, I don’t pay my Council Tax for Surrey County Council to play nanny on telling me about road safety. There is no additional increased risk of turning onto Broadway from Redding Way then there is turning onto Broadway from Sussex Road, less than 300 yards up the road. Perhaps if there is some concern, the council could install a mini round-a-bout at the junction, paid for from the money it would save in cancelling the contract for the contract for the bollards repair/maintenance.
Thirdly, as a consequence of blocking access to Redding Way from Broadway, and vica versa, the County Council forces drivers to de-tour a mile in either direction around the village to access the local shops or onward journeys out of Knaphill, especially if heading towards Chobham or Horsell direction. In the end, the result is that most people living in the various housing developments that exit onto Redding Way will go to Sainsbury’s reducing the amount of trade in what used to be a thriving range of shops in the centre of Knaphill village. It is not sufficient for the County Council to say people can bike or walk to the shops. How very patronising! A lot of the trade that occurs in the local shops occurs as passing trade, where people will stop on the way to or from a destination elsewhere in the village or other locations. By forcing a large population of fairly affluent residents away from the village centre means our local shops will continue to decline. In the last 10 years alone Knaphill High Street has turned from a vast and varied array of independent shops to a plethora of fast food and take-a-way joints, betting shops and charity shops. People who use their cars to travel short distances, will continue to use their cars regardless of whether the bollards are there or not. By keeping the bollards in place will mean that residents will be forced to drive a mile in the wrong direction which will take them to Sainsbury’s and not local shops. By maintaining the bollards, the County Council is not supporting small local business and inhibits entrepreneurial investment in facilities and shops that the resident population want or need.
Several years ago, a survey of local people asked about whether the bollards should be removed indicated that more than 50% of those questioned said they supported the removal. By ignoring the outcome of the survey, Surrey Council Council is disregarding the wishes of the people who pay their salaries. How many people who make the decisions that affect whether these bollards should exist actually live in Knaphill? I guess none. Surrey County Council does not represent the views of the people of the village on this issue.
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