The County Council’s Access to Headington proposals can be viewed here.
We strongly urge residents to view these plans as they will impact significantly across the Headington area.
Headington is an area of significant job growth, and it also hosts many hospitals. The Government’s Local Growth Fund has allocated £8.2m for improvements in access to major employment sites in Headington, and there is an extra pot of developer money which can be used for this purpose.
Changes are proposed from the bottom of Headley Way, along London Road, along Windmill Road and the Slade, and also in Osler Road and Old Road. These include a redesigned crossroads in the centre of Headington with a pedestrian crossing which can be used diagonally. There are also changes and new junctions in and around the entrances to the JR and the Churchill sites.
In order to widen roads enough to make improvements to cycle lanes, planners are proposing to reclaim some verges and trees, and remove on-street parking from Headley Way, Windmill Road and the Slade. There are no indications within the current proposals where residents affected by this change will park their cars.
Headington Lib Dem councillors invite comments from our residents about the proposed scheme. We shall send in comments based on the views we receive.
Our initial thoughts are:
- The potential removal of green verges and trees is contrary to the emerging Green Space policy in the draft Headington Neighbourhood Plan and insufficient weighting has been given to green space and trees in the proposals (no indication of where these can be substituted elsewhere in Headington)
- Will the removal of on-street parking make it easier for traffic to exceed the speed limit more often in Windmill Road and Headley Way? (already an issue)
- Where will residents affected by the removal of on-street spaces park their cars?
- Which disabled parking spaces will be affected and how can the County Council help those residents?
- Will the reduction of verges and widening of Osler Road lead to an increase in buses in this residential road?
We are currently discussing various issues with Tree Officers at both City and County, and are initiating discussion with Oxford Unlimited, a group concerned with transport issues for those with mobility challenges.
At the initial briefing, we flagged up the following suggestions:
the possibility of introducing pedestrian crossings of some sort in:
- Windmill Road (between Langley Close and Bateman Street) to aid access to schools, improve pedestrian access, and create a break in the traffic to mitigate possible speeding
- Headley Way (near the junction with London Road) to aid access to schools and Brookes, and improve safety as there have been near misses due to jaywalking here. The crossing lights could link into the junction lights
the possibility that ‘countdown’ crossing lights can be installed in the centre of Headington
that local construction companies and tradespeople should be contracted to do the work wherever possible
We have only just seen the plans, and will look forward to a wider public discussion before we send in comments in full. There are some very positive proposals too which we welcome, but for now we are concentrating on negotiating with the County Council over alternative options to address some of the above issues.
Contact details for the consultation:
| Name | Access to Headington Transport Proposals |
|---|---|
| Description | The county council is developing plans to improve access across Headington and at major employment sites |
| Dates | From 3 Jul 2015 at 00:00 to 7 Aug 2015 at 23:59. |
| Status | Open |
| Contact Name | Ian Williams |
| Contact Email Address | ian.williams@oxfordshire.gov.uk |
| Contact Phone Number | 01865 815548 |
| Contact Postal Address | Access to Headington Project, Infrastructure Development Oxfordshire County Council, Speedwell House (3rd Floor), Speedwell Street, Oxford, OX1 1NE |
Exhibitions will also be held as follows, where you will be able to view plans and discuss proposals with officers:
- Friday 3rd July, 13:00 – 20.00
St Anthony’s of Padua, 115 Headley Way, Oxford
- Saturday 4th July, 10:00 – 16:00
New Marston Primary School, Copse Lane, Oxford
- Thursday 9th July, 13:00 – 20:00
Wood Farm School, Titup Hall Drive, Oxford
- Saturday 11th July, 10:00 – 16:00
St. Andrew’s Primary School, London Road, Oxford
This stuff is continually dressed up as helping public transport, bikes etc. but the reality is the goals are the same as always: Get more cars through, faster. Widening Old Road by over 1 metre (at the expense of grass verges and trees!) will only mean even more cars doing 40-50 mph in a 20 mph zone (which nobody ever thinks to enforce), and I dread to think what Windmill Road will be like when all car parking spaces have been removed. Another race track I imagine.