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Two west Oxfordshire towns and their surrounding areas are set to benefit from improvements that will encourage cycling and walking over the next 10 years.
Oxfordshire County Council last week (24 April) approved local cycling and walking infrastructure plans (LCWIPs) for Chipping Norton and Woodstock.
The LCWIPs set out how to improve the rural market towns’ walking and cycling networks, reducing the reliance on single occupant motor vehicles to help cut congestion between residential areas, the historic town centres, schools, public open spaces and local services and facilities.
Paul Fermer, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Environment and Highways, said: “These plans are designed to provide well planned, joined up connectivity and real choice for how people move around their communities. We are particularly keen to encourage independent, healthy travel choices among school children and young people.
“In rural areas such as these, cars are essential for many people to get around, and we’re not trying to stop that. We just want to make it safer and more convenient for more people to walk or cycle for short journeys, or as part of longer journeys combined with using public transport in these towns and beyond.
“These LCWIPs will help achieve a culture of walking and cycling, as they have done elsewhere around the county. This can create thriving, healthy, inclusive and climate sensitive communities, where improvements enhance the environment that makes Woodstock and Chipping Norton great places to live, work and visit.”
The decisions bring the number of LCWIPs in Oxfordshire up to nine, following on from Oxford, Didcot, Bicester, Abingdon, Witney, Banbury, and Kidlington – and more are planned.
The approval of the plans is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government to deliver improvements.
The latest LCWIPs were developed and amended through discussions with local councillors at parish, town, district and county levels and feedback from public consultation. They provide a long-term strategy for safe, convenient and well-connected walking (including wheeling) and cycling networks that are accessible for people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds.
The aim is for these networks to connect people to where they want to go, including improving routes to access public transport.
Hundreds of specific improvements are proposed in the LCWIPs, including the provision of crossings, narrowing junctions, implementing dropped kerbs and tactile paving, and creating more space for cycling. It is hoped the improvements identified in the plan can be delivered by 2035, subject to funding.
In Chipping Norton, the A44/ A361 New Street junction and London Road are the highest prioritised areas for improvement due to the positive level of impact they would bring.
In Woodstock, reducing the speed limit on part of the A4095 between Bladon and Hanborough to reduce the danger to cyclists and pedestrians is listed as the top priority.
The plans, which were developed following government guidance, will be reviewed every two years to ensure they reflect local needs. The level of change in cycling and walking numbers will be monitored and modifications made if necessary.
For more information about this release contact Oxfordshire County Council’s communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk