Road safety a concern for Bankside residents

Labour County Councillor for Banbury Calthorpe Mark Cherry has been consulting with residents and working with Oxfordshire County Council officers to ensure that safety won’t be compromised following a decision to remove four chicanes from Bankside to accommodate increased traffic as a result of the Longford Park development.

Councillor Cherry said; “A new roundabout is being constructed at the Oxford Road flyover to provide access to Bankside for the 600 new homes in Longford Park. The chicanes have to go and of all the traffic calming options available I have suggested road cushions, which allow large vehicles and emergency vehicles free movement but slow down car users.”

Road cushions are a variation of sleeping policemen which are wide enough to disturb the access of smaller vehicles such as cars but are narrow enough to allow larger vehicles such as buses and ambulances uninterrupted access.

Residents in the area seem keen to adopt the road cushion idea.

Sarah and Mick Allen are residents of Badger Way just off Bankside, Mick Allen said; “ A couple of months ago there was an accident as a car approached a chicane too fast, and to avoid crashing into the car in front swerved off the road into a hedge. Luckily no one was hurt.”

Sarah Allen added; “At the moment traffic backs up at the chicanes especially at around 3.30pm for the school run and it will be even worse with the Longford Park development. Road cushions are good because motorists don’t want to damage their cars and will slow down.”

The costs of the changes to the road safety measures will be incorporated into the costs of the Longford Park development as councillor Cherry explains; “We are near an agreement to replace the four chicanes with road cushions and the full cost is expected to be met from Longford Park ‘Section 106’ money. Section 106 is a contractual agreement between the council and developers, which require the developers to provide a benefit to the community, like new roads or road improvement.”

The Longford Park development will see the addition of 600 homes and a primary school for up to 45 children, the opening of which has been delayed until 2017.