Walking and cycling schemes for Bicester and Witney approved

The two towns will see speed limits slowed and new cycle lanes added to major roads, as part of a major programme of works to encourage uptake of so-called 'active travel'.

Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport and the environment, signed off on the two schemes on Thursday.

Oxfordshire county councillor Yvonne Constance. Picture: Jon Lewis

However, plans for an experimental cycle lane on one Bicester road were abandoned, and special ‘tactile surfaces’ for the partially-sighted and blind were introduced into the Witney scheme after concerns from a local charity.

In Witney, the new active travel scheme will include an east-west ‘active travel corridor’ across the town.

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The speed limit through the middle of the town is also due to be reduced to 20mph, and an eastbound bus and bicycle lane will be introduced on Corn Street.

Pavements will also be widened with some shared space for bikes and pedestrians.

In Bicester, plans are based on an official blueprint to increase cycling from the current 3,000 bike trips a day to 9,000 trips a day by 2031, and also increasing walking trips from 18,000 a year to 24,000 a year.

The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Bicester is a blueprint for new cycle paths in the town. Picture: Oxfordshire County Council

To do this, parking bays at a busy junction on Villiers Road would be removed and new pedestrian and cycle paths along Middleton Stoney Road, Oxford Road and Kings End are set to be introduced.

While Ms Constance approved the two schemes, some changes were made after concerns from public speakers at the meeting on February 25.

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Mark Upton, from the Oxfordshire Association for the Blind, raised concerns about shared areas on the streets of Witney, where pedestrians and cyclists would have to use the same area of pavement, as opposed to having segregated halves.

He said: “In other shared space schemes… a lot of people with disabilities will avoid them because they know they are not safe in those areas.”

Shoppers return to Witney Town Centre as shops begin to reopen..15/06/2020.Picture by Ed Nix.

He warned that disabled people, including the partially-sighted, may choose to use cars or taxis instead, and called for special ‘tactile paving’ to be laid, warning where shared pavement areas began.

Ms Constance agreed with this change, after hearing from a council officer that it would not be possible to segregate some pavements in the centre of Witney because they were too narrow.

Meanwhile, plans for a ‘contraflow’ cycle lane, running against traffic down the Causeway in Bicester, were delayed.

Public speakers Chris Brennan from Sustrans and Paul Troop from the Bicester Bike Users Group warned it could be dangerous.

Ms Constance agreed and said the Causeway cycle path plans needed a ‘rethink’.

Shoppers return to Bicester Town Centre and Bicester Village as shops begin to reopen..15/06/2020.Picture by Ed Nix.

The two schemes started life as part of a bid for Government cash from the emergency active travel fund.

This pot of money was announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps for council to use to encourage the uptake of cycling and walking instead of using private cars after the first lockdown ended.

Oxfordshire won nearly £3m in the second round of the funding, which is being spent on several projects in Oxford.

The Bicester and Witney schemes were originally included in this second bid, but the Government did not provide enough cash for them.

The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership provided the cash instead.