Cycling and walking improvements coming to Banbury
Banbury residents and visitors are set to benefit from improvements that will encourage cycling and walking in the town and neighbouring villages.
Oxfordshire County Council has adopted the Banbury Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which sets out how to improve the town’s active travel network, reduce the reliance on single use motor vehicles and cut congestion.
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “Banbury is one of many towns across the country that is becoming swamped by traffic. This council has made it clear that one of our priorities is to reclaim space for people to use their environments in a way which is healthy, sustainable and safer, and the Banbury LCWIP will help us achieve that.
“More than 100 residents and groups took the time to engage with us on this plan, which is an excellent example of the importance of consultation. It changed considerably thanks to local knowledge and people responding to the proposals.”
Approval was given on 20 July by Cllr Gant at a delegated decisions meeting for the cabinet member for highways management.
The Banbury LCWIP is a 10 year plan encompassing the urban area of Banbury and its links to the surrounding villages of Adderbury, Bloxham, Broughton, Great Bourton, Little Bourton, North Newington, Middleton Cheney and Wroxton.
The ambition of an LCWIP is to create a cycling and walking network that is accessible for all and where everyone feels safe when they are cycling and walking.
The plan identifies the key routes and destinations where improvements for cycling are needed, such as:
- segregated cycle routes wherever possible
- traffic free routes
- speed reductions to 20mph
- protected space for cycling
- additional road crossings
- reviewed and improved junctions.
Improvements for walking focus on key zones, most notably in Banbury town centre, including:
- wider footways
- improved road crossings and
- removal of physical barriers.
The Banbury plan is the sixth LCWIP to be approved in Oxfordshire, following on from Oxford, Witney, Bicester, Abingdon and Kidlington.
Implementing the plan is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government once the design stage of the project begins.
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