I see complaints regarding the A322 are getting louder already! Even making allowances for the current resurfacing of the road (night closures, raised ironworks etc), people in nearby villages are complaining of re-phased lights (fancy talk for changing the timings for the lights to change) and tailbacks into Bisley and West End.

Suggestion was made that changes have been made to junction traffic lights to restrict flow onto the A322 from adjoining roads up the main A322 which seems daft until you consider that the Brookwood Farm development (in Knaphill) comes with a much-touted brand new (untested?) ‘traffic management system’ which will easily cope with over capacity on the artery road. Perhaps the numbers have been revisited and the only way to make that area work is to make adjustments all along the A322? Maybe this was all part of the masterplan? Who knows?!

I dug this report up from SCC – Congestion Programme report – from 2013. In it, (p63) the A322/A324 junction is identified as a main challenge:

 The main challenges in the borough have been identified as:

• Congestion in Woking town centre, Maybury, Knaphill and St Johns, and on the A324/A322 at Brookwood crossroads

• Poor air quality in Knaphill

• The railway line acts as a barrier to north-south movement in Woking town centre and also separates Maybury and Sheerwater, making it difficult to access the town centre and employment areas in Maybury and Sheerwater.

Clear as day that – the junction is a big problem. The report goes on to announce their proposed approach to solving this problem, which is to develop the Victoria Arch in Woking town centre and to provide improvements to the train station in… Woking town centre!

NOTHING to alleviate the stress on the A322. Oh yes and the funding will come, at least partly, from the CIL or s106 payments from the Brookwood Farm development (in Knaphill).

So as the KRA and numerous others pointed out to WBC, SCC, Highways and pretty much anyone that might be involved, the A322 is over congested and causing back ups and this is before people have even moved in to Brookwood Farm (in Knaphill…) and numerous other developments up the A322 have been built.

What will be done to alleviate the burden on the main road between the A3 and the M3 & M4? A couple of bike tracks. Maybe.

Not for Knaphill though. Despite footing the bill (a stretch I admit but Brookwood Farm developer payments should be spent on Knaphill infrastructure in my opinion) for a major development in the area, having the A322 identified as a major problem AND poor air quality, Knaphill village gets not so much as a pat on the back or an apology for being crapped on so often. Don’t expect any long-term improvement in air quality either. Even if measures are taken immediately to address the order currently issued for the top of Anchor Hill, as soon as people start moving in to Brookwood Farm it’s going to get worse again. Why? Because the exit from Sparvell Road forces traffic through the village due to a no right turn onto the A322 and people won’t want to wait at that Redding Way exit due to back ups.

As you might have picked up on, I am really cross about how Knaphill is repeatedly ignored by councils. The people that live here actually know the area and don’t rely on projections or unproven ‘traffic management’ methods. It wouldn’t hurt to acknowledge this and listen from time to time. If there are reasons for the decisions made that go in the face of popular opinion it wouldn’t hurt to state what they are and be open and honest about it, but I guess that’s just community minded thinking and we couldn’t have that could we.

In short, all the officials appear to know there is a serious issue with congestion on the A322 amongst other. They’re just not going to do anything about it.