Reigate Town Centre

Image: © Ian Capper Taken: 5 Jul 2020

The junction of Bell Street with High Street and Church Street, with the Old Town Hall on the left (see Image and various premises on the right and Image for closer view). The barriers are for a temporary cycle lane that had been installed by Surrey County Council a couple of days earlier, on 3 July 2020, with the aim of encouraging cycling in Reigate and widening the pavements for pedestrians. Unfortunately the idea, admirable though it might have seemed, failed to recognise the frequent traffic jams in Reigate which occur with two lanes through the one way system, so potentially worsened with just one, and also the impact on deliveries and general access to the town centre. It was therefore quickly realised that rather than make the area more attractive to shoppers, it would instead have the opposite effect of damaging businesses by keeping them away. As a result, instead of being a 3 month experiment as planned, it lasted less than 3 days, the barriers being removed on 6 July, the day after this photo was taken.

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