One of the issues that was raised at last month’s Headington Ward Focus meeting was the bus gate next to Osler Road. I wasn’t surprised when residents said it was dangerous — I have heard this complaint before and have raised it with the County Council. Now the Oxford Mailhas reported the issue, with comments from Ruth. What has surprised me is the County’s response saying there have been no accidents there: I should take them round to a couple of Headington residents who have been involved in knocks at precisely this point.
The problem is that the bus gate is on an obvious line of pedestrian travel and, with the apparent refuge after the first lane, those walking understandably expect to be able to cross there. The County, when I raised the issue, appreciated there was a problem — and so made the refuge, where the traffic lights are, more uncomfortable to discourage people from using it. But, of course, they don’t necessarily realise the surface is sharply uneven until they are actually on it.
Turn back the clock and this site probably would have made a better crossing point than the one now installed closer to Headington cross-roads. But that possibility has gone. The issue now is how to improve this patch before more accidents happen. We can’t simply expect pedestrians not to use it — as Ruth says, what’s needed is to make the junction safer for everyone.
Have you any experiences of the bus gate? What do you think should be done? Let us know!
Construction work is starting on the new classroom building at Headington School.
The works are scheduled to commence today Monday 27 June 2011 when a temporary access will be formed from Woodlands Road into the rear of the School’s property.
Construction of the new building will start on 11 July 2011 and will continue for about 14 months.
Access to the site will be via a temporary entrance off Woodlands Road. This access/egress will be used by construction traffic from 27 June whilst the construction of the new building progresses. The kerb will be modified to allow vehicles to enter into the site easily and all verges and pavements will be reinstated after the completion of the project. Kingerlee will carefully monitor traffic and clear away any mud that might be deposited on the road.
The Woodlands Rd entrance is being used as this was deemed by the Highways Authority to be safer than the one from Headley Way. Local residents are being notified by leaflet.
2 parking bays, an 11m section, of the residents parking is to be suspended for the duration of the works.
Congratulations to Louise and Jonathan for getting some action to make Osler Road safer when parents drop off and collect children at the Nursery.
After the residents’ meeting that Ruth had facilitated with agencies including the bus companies, the Trust and the County, the residents’ group has secured an agreement for an officer to
“instigate the work to install two sections of pedestrian guard rail on the public footpath outside the nursery, subject to a survey…before the end of July”
Another initiative resulting from this meeting is that a county member of staff will come and talk to the nursery children about road safety.
What a great result from our most recently set up residents’ group in Headington!
The public meeting for Osler Road residents was well attended and a number of agencies have taken away actions to try to address issues including:
traffic congestion
parking issues and lack of enforcement
damage to roads
near misses and accidents
specification of buses
need for a transport strategy for Headington
We are circulating the list of actions to all residents in Osler Road and will convene another meeting in three months time to review progress. We are grateful to Stagecoach, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, the JR and Thames Valley Police for assisting us in trying to resolve local issues.
We are also delighted that Osler Road residents are setting up a new Residents’ Group and will helping to facilitate this
If you would like a copy of notes taken at this meeting please contact us
The County Council will close the road at Larkins Lane and St Andrew’s Lane on 13 September 2010.
A temporary Traffic Order is being made to implement the temporary phased road closur and will operate from 13/9/10 and continue for approximately 2 weeks
Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and also for those residents within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works. Access will depend on exactly where the works are located at any given time
There will be a preliminary phase of works starting on 26 July 2010 for 2 weeks to install the site offices and narrow lane traffic management. During this time there will be a requirement for the M40 junction 9 northbound exit slip road to be closed overnight. This will take place on the 6 and 7 August 2010 between 10pm and 5am. A clearly signed diversion route via M40 junction 10 will be in place.
This will then be followed by the main phase of work, which is scheduled to start on 9 August 2010, and will take roughly 5 months to complete.
The aim of this scheme is to increase capacity on the slip-roads and A34 in order to improve traffic flow, thereby reducing congestion at the junction.
Details of this scheme and further traffic management updates will be available on this website or by contacting the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000
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 makeLime 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
ØNew Headington: Fri 25 June All Saints Church Hall at 6.15
ØHighfield: 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
There will be a public exhibition of proposals for a scheme of traffic management in the Highfield area on 27 May, in the Methodist Church Hall in New High Street. It will be open from 2pm until 8:30 pm. This will be an opportunity for people to view the proposals, talk to County Officers about them, and make comments. The period of informal consultation will last for four weeks. The objective of the scheme is to to mitigate the impact of through traffic on the area, so it’s really important residents attend, not only from Highfield, but also from the Windmill Road/Old Road and Gipsy Lane areas of Headington.
We have received enquiries about the duration of the pedestrian lights outside Brookes, and there have been reports that they ‘switch themselves on’.
Sure enough, we learn from the County that, as part of the traffic management scheme of that section of road, the pedestrian crossing has been designed to revert to all red if the frequency of vehicles approaching the pedestrian crossing falls below a certain level.
A red light will be shown to both the traffic and pedestrians until such time as a vehicle is detected or a demand at the crossing is made which will initiate the appropriate change in the lights.
We are told this is a trial – let us know what you think!
