Read the latest information about the progress of the Science Vale Cycle Network (SVCN) project in the July edition of the Oxfordshire County Council Update.
Read the latest information about the progress of the Science Vale Cycle Network (SVCN) project in the July edition of the Oxfordshire County Council Update.
Plan for Long Wittenham there is for construction of ramped cycle bypasses for the two chicanes in September. Presumably with parking restrictions as it seems unlikely they will be able to follow the guidance of 1.2m cycle lanes either side. Hopefully the parking restrictions will be respected otherwise they will be a waste of tarmac.
In response to the original consultation the Parish Council pointed out to OCC the conflict between these proposals and the congestion at peak times and also the parking for school and pre-school along (particularly) the western section.
The OCC Cabinet Member for Highways decided to go ahead with the plans despite our concerns.
The PC asked to see the Safety Audit for the plans after that decision but because of other priorities for OCC Officers ( and Covid ) the safety audit has yet to be provided to the PC. The PC remains unconvinced that a safe scheme can be built.
There is no mention of parking restrictions in the proposals or consultation and we would strenuously object should these be added after the consultation was completed a year ago. Parking restrictions would have a disproportionate impact on residents who have not had a chance to comment should they now be required. In any case there seems to be little or no enforcement of parking controls outside of the larger towns so they would be totally ineffective.
The PC has been promised the safety audit in the near future after which we will be able to see if the proposals could provide a safe solution. Until then we remain concerned about the plans.
A much more effective solution is the construction of the new link road from Didcot to Culham Science Park which now has firm funding. OCC plan to build this in the next 4 years. This new road should remove a lot of through traffic from the village and will also have purpose made cycle provision.
However the PC continues to look for improvements to cycle safety on the High Street from the Little Wittenham junction towards Clifton Hampden( the Maddy ). A potential partial solution was discussed at last weeks PC meeting and further investigation is in progress.
The chicanes don’t meet current safety standards so any safety assessment should be judged against the fact they are defacto unsafe currently.
Parking near the chicanes is already defacto dangerous, just like anywhere where there are potential conflicts like zebra crossings parking is evidently stupid as it restricts sight lines. The current practice of parking between the give way lines and chicane itself is poor driving, albeit caused by the
In the end, this section is also shared with National Cycle Route 5. The continued support to make it an alternative A34 by making it as difficult as possible to use for pedestrians and cyclists is inexplicable. No point making perfection the enemy of the good bearing in mind the competence of the county council to install perfect designs.