First 'quiet lane' change set for approval

The first road changes for a county's new "quiet lanes" project are set to be approved.

Oxfordshire County Council's plans involve a set of partial road closures to traffic using gates or bollards, creating routes for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders when there is an alternative available.

The scheme has been met with mixed reactions, though the majority of responses to a public consultation have been supportive. A traffic management officer with Thames Valley Police has voiced his objection.

Its proponents at the council say it will make rural roads and key links between urban areas "more attractive to a wider range of road-users".

The proposed routes would be closed to almost all through motor traffic, with exceptions made for residents and emergency services in an attempt to encourage more people to use the routes for cycling and walking.

Speed limit drops around Shepherds Pit Lane in Stanton St John will come as part of the "overall traffic calming measures" in the quiet lanes programme according to a council report.

It will be included in the wider scheme of ten "experimental" orders.

The other nine roads have not yet been confirmed, though proposals include streets in Blackthorn Village, Fawler, Towersey, Goring, Kennington, and Aston Rowant.

Some roads have been removed from contention amid local opposition.

On Thursday transport boss Gareth Epps has been recommended to approve speed limit cuts from 60mph to 20mph on Shepherds Pit Lane to its junction with the B4027 Wheatley Road, and extend a 30mph restriction on that B-road, replacing a 50mph limit as part of the scheme.

The Department for Transport guidance for quiet lanes describe routes that can be "shared use by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and motor vehicles".

Responding to the consultation, a police traffic management representative said: "Accepting you already have an internal policy in terms of setting 20mph speed limits, and following your withdrawal from national guidance, I can only object to these current proposals as being highly inappropriate under the circumstances."

Previously police have raised concerns about the countywide rollout with issues around enforceability, limited police resources, the risk of unfair criminalisation, and that unrealistic limits could be ignored and have negative impacts for road safety.

The speed limit changes come ahead of planned experimental traffic orders which are set to involve traffic filtering, potentially using physical blocks.

This would be to "reduce vehicle numbers and speeds, lower the risk and severity of collisions, make minor roads feel calmer and safer, in order to help make it safer for people to walk, cycle, wheel and horse ride".

A council officer responded to the police objection, saying the authority's transport plan was "clear in its vision and policies around improving road safety, balancing the needs of all road users on the transport network".