Successful lobbying by Highfield Residents Association for measures to make Highfield streets less congested with through traffic and to reduce the speed of vehicles using its streets has heightened the awareness of county planners of the problems experienced by residents in their area

The county planners have now produced proposals for a  traffic management scheme for Highfield that is currently out for consultation. We asked the county officer responsible for these proposals to convene a meeting with residents’ groups, and she kindly agreed.

The meeting took place on 10 June. Here are some of the notes I took away with me from it. The closing date for comments and objections to the scheme is 1 July

Notes from the meeting about the traffic scheme held on Thursday 10 June

 

Present:

Cllr Altaf-Khan (County Councillor and Chair of the meeting)

Joy White (County planning officer)

2 representatives from Highfield Residents’ Association Traffic Group

3 representatives from New Headington Residents’ Association Traffic Group

2 representatives from Friends of Old Headington Traffic Group

1 representative from Friends of Old Headington (the Chair)

1 representative from Central and North Headington Residents’ Association

Cllr Ruth Wilkinson (Headington ward)

 

What we agreed about:

·         There should be a master plan for traffic management across the whole of Headington

·         The strategic health authority and the hospitals trust should be required to manage transport issues more effectively, particularly in respect of hospital staff

·         Everyone wants safer, less congested traffic routes in their area

·         Traffic calming in residential streets is a good idea

 

Things people were worried about included:

·         Traffic is like water: if you stop it in one area, it will spread into another and this will result in more rat runs. Some feel this scheme is piecemeal

·         No right turns would mean longer journeys and restricted access to homes and businesses for some affected residents – more fuel, more time and less freedom

·         Possible loss of parking spaces

·         Confusion for visitors and delivery drivers (won’t show up on sat navs)

·         The disadvantages of the scheme outweigh the benefits for some residents

·         The bollards in All Saints Road

·         We need some traffic flow modelling to be done so we have more evidence to go on

·         The timing: some people felt we should wait until after the London Road redevelopment as this may affect the way traffic flows through Headington

·         The London Road junctions with Windmill Road and Headley Way will come under much more pressure, and some people are worried about safety at the Windmill Road junction already. Can the existing infrastructure accommodate the dispersed traffic?

 

We thought about new ideas which would not restrict access so much including:

·         The replacement of some pinch points with a pedestrian crossing in Lime Walk

·         The possibility of making Bickerton Rd and Stapleton Rd one way

·         Ways to make  Lime Walk look more like a residential road than a main road to calm speeds, for example planting (non-sticky) lime trees on alternate sides of the road

·         Putting bollards in New High Street at the junction with All Saints Road

 

Actions

·         Residents’ associations will hold open meetings to discuss their response to these plans

Ø  New Headington: Fri 25 June All Saints Church Hall at 6.15

Ø  Highfield: Mon 21 June (tbc)

·         Ruth and Altaf will continue to hold street surgeries in New Headington, McMaster House and in Windmill Road: next surgery Wed 16 June at 6.00-8.00 pm, 24 Wilberforce St.

·         It’s important that people have more time to make a considered response after they have attended open meetings. Many people are still angry and upset. Joy has now made 1 July the closing date for responses

 

PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT CONSULTATION

– the feedback form is on the link above.

 

Please contact David and Ruth if you have particular concerns