Safety upgrades along Garsington Road given go ahead
Residents will benefit from safer cycling and walking routes after proposals to improve paths and crossings between Oxford Business Park and Hollow Way were approved at a county council cabinet member decision meeting on 20 June.
The improvements on the stretch of the B480, Garsington Road in Oxford will make it easier and more enjoyable to walk, wheel and cycle and will improve road safety.
The plans include a new crossing, new and improved paths for walking and cycling, and road humps at side roads for safer crossing and to encourage careful driving at junctions.
Bill Cotton, Oxfordshire County Council’s Corporate Director for Environment and Place, said: “Garsington Road is a key route in our city network – linking the eastern bypass with Oxford’s eastern arc, and providing a business centre with a thriving business park that is home to over 65 diverse businesses and facilities.
“Creating the best environments to support active travel in our busy city is hugely important. These changes will mean that more people will be able to choose cycling and walking as part of their daily travel, benefitting health and wellbeing and keeping our vibrant city moving.
“The upgrades to Garsington Road are a part of our commitment to help make the road safer for everyone using it, with a special focus on vulnerable road users.”
The upgrades include:
- A new toucan crossing on the western side of Garsington Road/John Smith Drive roundabout, replacing the existing crossing that is nearby. The crossing will have lights and will be wider to give more space to cross for people walking, wheeling, pushing prams or with bicycles.
- Extending the existing cycleways on Garsington Road by upgrading footways and cycleways on the southern side of the road. These will be shared use between John Smith Drive and the petrol station, then segregated with marked dividing lines between the petrol station and St. Luke’s Road.
- Adding shared use footways and cycleways around the northern and southern sides of the Garsington Road/John Smith Drive roundabout. This will include raised tables to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists crossing the junctions.
- Installing flat top road humps at the junctions of Phipps Road, Napier Road and St. Luke's Road to provide a wide continuous footway and promote pedestrian and cyclist priority crossing the junctions. They will also help reduce vehicle speed entering and exiting the side roads.
Construction work to install the improvements is planned for later this summer, ahead of the traffic filters trial beginning in the autumn.
Ends
For more information about this release contact the Oxfordshire County Council communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Notes to editors
- You can read more about the project on the county council website oxfordshire.gov.uk/garsingtonroadtravel. The project is funded by the government’s Active Travel Fund.
- More details are in the cabinet report (Page 4, item 7).
- Proposals were open for formal consultation between 25 April and 24 May 2024 – details of this are in the cabinet report (Annex 5, pp235 -244).
- Measures in the central Oxfordshire travel plan and Oxfordshire’s local transport and connectivity plan are designed to make Oxfordshire a better place for everyone.
Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.