New plans for Banbury show lane closures in Bridge Street area. Consultation starts today
New road plans for the Bridge Street area of Banbury show lane closures for through traffic. A consultation began this week.
The new design for the junctions of Bridge Street, Concorde Avenue, Cherwell Street and George Street shows lane closures motorists have feared. The consultation paper says these changes are still needed to improve bus journey times.
Through traffic would no longer be able to use dedicated filter lane to turn right into Bridge Street from Concorde Avenue, or from Cherwell Street into Middleton Road. The proposals show:
- Reduction from three lanes to two from Concorde Avenue to Cherwell Street and Middleton Road
- Loss of the right-turn filter from Cherwell Street to Middleton Road
- a left-turn filter lane from George Street for buses and vehicles turning towards the Market Place
- George Street junction reduced to a single lane where it meets Cherwell Street to allow widening of the bus lane and a pedestrian crossing to be installed
- removing the island on Bridge Street/Middleton Road
- reconstructing the Concorde Avenue/Cherwell Street islands
- adjusting the lanes from Middleton Road to prevent left-turning vehicles mounting the pavement. This may ‘lead to reduced highway capacity on Bridge Street (east)’ the plan says
- traffic lights would be optimised to adjust the timing and co-ordination to improve the flow of vehicles.
Members of the public are invited to submit their views on the changes which are seen as ‘offering improvements to bus journey times and reliability proposed for this area of Banbury’. Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) has been awarded government funding to promote bus use. The original plan was featured in the Banbury Guardian last spring. The Banbury Civic Society (BCS) said then the design would ‘seriously reduce facilities for 'non-bus' traffic at the George Street junction with Cherwell Street, in Cherwell Street (both ways) and do little for incoming buses or departing buses.
They said last May: “It fails to take account of the possible relocation of the bus station, anticipated in the Local Plan review. The proposal underlines the fiction that Cherwell Street is a 'by-pass' for the town centre. It should be rejected out of hand as counterproductive and a waste of public money.”
More information of the new plan is available to view on the county council’s digital consultation and engagement platform with a survey open until March 23. Plans and designs can also be viewed at an information event on Monday, March 10, from 3pm - 7pm, at Banbury Town Hall. Members of the project team will be available to answer any questions. Councillor Judy Roberts, OCC Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “The Cherwell Street area of Banbury is very congested, especially at peak times. As a result, bus journeys are often delayed. We are proposing a set of improvements to make bus journeys into and out of central Banbury more reliable and so more attractive. “Pedestrians and cyclists are also put at risk by sub-standard crossings and the number of vehicles travelling through this area. The proposed changes aim to improve safety for those who walk, cycle or wheel through central Banbury. “This consultation is an opportunity for those who travel through this area to feedback on the improvements and help us to decide on their final design.” OCC said the proposed improvements also aim to enhance safety for people walking, cycling and wheeling.