Have your say on Walton Street, Oxford, experimental closure
It is now time to have your say on the experimental closure of Walton Street, Oxford.
The central Oxford road was closed earlier in the year for repairs and, when faults beneath the road surface caused extra problems, the route ended up being closed far longer than originally expected.
Feedback received from local people by the council during this period led to the idea of testing out whether a more permanent closure of the Walton Street junction with Beaumont Street would be beneficial.
To test this out the council is putting an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order in which can stay in place for up to 18 months with the first 6 months serving as a consultation period where anyone can have a say on how the arrangements are working.
Paul Fermer, Assistant Director for Community Operations, said: “We carried out an informal local consultation to check there were no significant reasons not to trial a closure of Walton Street. We received more than 490 individual responses with more than 60% in favour of retaining the current closure.
“The formal consultation will run for six months during which time if problems are identified then we could end or alter the restrictions. Any decision to make the closure permanent would be taken by the Cabinet Member for Transport at a public meeting next year.
“We would like to hear people’s views on the impact and if we should consider making the closure permanent.”
The road surface itself is now repaired and the closure only affects the junction with Beaumont Street, meaning that all properties can still be accessed using other routes.
You can view the consultation and have your say here: https://consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/WaltonStreetFormalExperimental/consultationHome
Objections to the proposals and other representations, specifying the grounds on which they are made, may be sent in by completing the online questionnaire, via email or in writing (quoting ref: AK.12.6.320) to the address below or by completing the online questionnaire by 29 May 2020. The council will consider objections and representations received in response and they may be disseminated widely for these purposes and made available to the public.
Oxfordshire County Council
County Hall
New Road
OXFORD
OX1 1ND