Town Survey (Roads)

Thu 27 Mar, 09:46

A friend alerted me to this echo chamber this morning. Blimey. 

As a Charlbury town councillor a couple of years ago, I was involved in drawing up early drafts of wish-lists for what the County Council could do to make it easier for people, mainly schoolchildren and elderly people, to walk and cycle around the town. Examples of the kinds of measures include the zebra crossing on the Slade, which despite being improperly built, is universally popular. The traffic calming build-out on the Enstone Road as cars come into Charlbury, has a visible speed deterrent effect. These are two examples of the kind of measures that Stephen Bubb is referring to. 

The wish-list to which I referred was generated from informal public consultation carried out by the Town Council. The two measures which I've just referred to, the zebra crossing and the build-out, were publicly consulted by the County Council and received strong support. 

Support for measures which make it easier to walk and cycle around Charlbury are, unsurprisingly, likely to meet with huge support from people who live here. An example of another measure which is long overdue, which the plan will I hope prioritise but which Stephen claims is disastrous, is finally doing something at Enstone Road crossroads which makes it safer for drivers as well as pedestrians and people on bikes.

The parking scheme which has been implemented in the centre of town has nothing to do with the walking and cycling measures. Friends who live in the very centre of town are extremely supportive of the parking measures because it has made their lives so much easier. I imagine that for customers of the Bull, and tradespeople working around town, it is a pain. But this scheme to make it easier for people who live in the centre of town to park near their homes has got nothing to do with the wider walking and cycling plans for the town. Those would be consulted on by the County Council when they are ready later in the year. I'd suggest Charlburians wait until that moment before deciding whether or not a measure like a pedestrian crossing serving a third of the town's population, and reducing traffic speed within the town, are disastrous or actually rather good for us.