On Sunday 18 September, five intrepid cyclists with an interest in cycle routes set out through Farnham town centre to explore the possible options. Our mission – to evaluate routes on the ground while considering pedestrians, those with mobility issues and particularly young children as well as other road users, at the request of one of our local Councillors.

We compiled a report in which we examined some of the original ‘desire lines’ that the Farnham Cycle Campaign discussed, some years back, with Waverley Borough Council.

The routes link the main journey generators within the Farnham area, such as the town centre businesses, the schools, leisure centre and so on.  The aim is to connect them with high quality infrastructure that will help to encourage active travel and to discourage unnecessary car use.

We are avid and experienced cyclists, but we are not technical experts, so that’s why we have used the term ‘desire lines’ rather than cycle lanes.  Though we believe that segregated cycle lanes are vital, there are many other interventions that can be made to encourage cycling and sustainable travel, such as shared use paths or even just good signage. Furthermore, we rely on the traffic engineers to help determine what interventions are possible and where. We’d also like them to consider how these can be designed not only to maximise convenience and safety for young or inexperienced cyclists, but also to benefit other priority users such as pedestrians and people with mobility issues. 

You can see our report here, together with the accompanying map.  We’d love to hear your thoughts.

All the participants felt it that it is entirely feasible for cycle lanes to be included in the Farnham Infrastructure Plan and that it is imperative that we do so.

Experienced cyclists would probably be able to negotiate a system that is shared with cars. However, we all believe that such a system would deter less confident cyclists from venturing into town. In addition, cyclists and mobility scooter users would be likely to slow down car drivers, who would not be able to overtake. Although we do not condone pavement cycling, it is likely that cyclists who felt unsafe on the road system are likely to use pavements. In Brightwells, which is a destination as well as a thoroughfare, if no cycle lane is installed, we predict that cycles will weave between pedestrians.

All road users will benefit from a crossing installed where Scholars Way crosses Castle St.

As residents of Farnham, we want the best for our town. But currently we have the worst air quality in Surrey, gridlocked traffic at peak times and environmental blight from roads choked by cars. At stopping points on our ride we were very conscious of the noise pollution created by the traffic, something which is unseen but nevertheless an environmental issue. We also noticed a far greater number of cyclists passing us than we expected in such a short space of time, indicating that cycling is not a minority interest but an essential means of travel for residents of Farnham.