Ending congestion for faster buses, safer streets and healthier, cheaper travel options for all

The amended motion on traffic in Oxford city, which passed with all party support at the County Council’s November meeting, means everything will change from here.

Instead of focussing on schemes and policies, we will be tackling congestion head on, including looking at all the LTN boundary roads and junctions, and all the areas around the LTNs, based on detailed input from local residents and businesses, and based on real life experience not fancy theories.

Many thanks to all the Oxford people who have written and spoken to us. It is clear that residents and businesses have no time for conspiracy theories or grand traffic schemes, but just want faster, safer, cheaper journeys, by whatever means, on our roads. Lots of people from across the county have shared real life stories that demonstrate the good and bad impacts of our current street arrangements. Some, including local business people, have shared ideas that might help ease the traffic jams. As we all try to cope with the closure of Botley Road to build a new rail bridge and station, alongside gas and water mains roadworks which jam up the A34 and the bypass, this common sense is sorely needed.

We must show flexibility, and focus on ends not means – tackling traffic jams not just concentrating on one or other big idea to get us there. We all know it will take a mix of things, different in each neighbourhood, to help get us there. That’s why need to hear from people about what will work where they live, and it won’t be the same in Littlemore as in Grandpont, different in Cutteslowe to Headington.

Ideas shared so far (not all will work) include:

• Work urgently on improving bus routes to get our buses and taxis moving
• Deliver more flexibility for blue badge holders, carers, and delivery drivers, for example including a blue badge exemption on the Crowell Road/Littlemore Road ANPR
• Roll out traffic signal bus priority at key junctions across East Oxford
• Review the Cowley Road design outside Tescos to remove pinch-points and speed up buses
• Remove parking on Hollow Way to reduce congestion and speed up buses
• Trial traffic lights on the Plain to speed up traffic flow, focused on reducing congestion on St Clements, which will speed up journeys between Marston, Headington and Barton into the City Centre.
• Consider further ways to reduce congestion on St Clements for journeys between St Clements and the Cowley Road
• Speed up buses exiting Churchill Hospital at peak hours by introducing measures at junctions
• Expand School Streets across state primary and secondary schools where there is support from the Headteacher
• Install School Streets at Cowley Place and in North Oxford to reduce private school traffic (working to reduce traffic from Magdalen College School, Oxford High School, The Dragon and Wychwood School)
• Explore options to introduce red routes to help speed up buses
• Deliver better street-lighting so people feel safe to walk at night to and from bus stops
• Put more focus on improving our pavements, so that walking is easy, safe and convenient, and so the pavements aren’t cluttered or a trip-hazard
• Improve the Newman Road junction so it’s safer for all road users
• Improve walking and cycling on Mogridge Drive
• Deliver the Littlemore Neighbourhood Plan transport improvements
• Improve the junction at Horspath Road and Hollow Way for pedestrians
• Build more pedestrian crossings along the Iffley Road
• Allocate more funding to provide free bicycles, bicycle repairs, and training for communities across East Oxford, particularly for children and families
• Deliver more secure bicycle parking, especially in schools and social housing
• Bring buses back into public control so the council can choose the bus routes, timetables and prices, starting with a bus feasibility study in this year’s budget
• Explore measures to improve the accessibility and public realm on the Cowley Road, so that people spend more time in the area and spend more in local businesses

We now have a chance, at this time of awful traffic congestion, thanks to all councillors across the Council, all parties, who are supporting this new approach.