Following the consultation on our 20mph speed limit project, Oxfordshire County Council has now formally approved the plans.
We appreciate all the feedback our residents supplied during the consultation period and the support the project received from Cllr Dan Levy and previous County Councillor, Charles Mathew. The Parish Council can now proceed with implementation of the speed reduction scheme, which will include reducing speed limits within the village to 20mph (down from 30mph) as well as reducing speed limits on some of the outer roads.
Enforcement will be via the Eynsham Community Speedwatch Group which has been established with the support of local police. This volunteer group is undergoing training and has identified key locations where the speed of vehicles will be monitored for a number of hours each week. The monitoring activities will commence as soon as the Group receives the equipment they need. The details of any speeding drivers will be provided to the police, who will send a warning letter in the first instance, before paying the owner a visit if there are subsequent offences.
New signs will be erected on the impacted roads to ensure drivers are aware of the speed reductions and attractive gateways will be established at the entrance to the village to encourage people to drive carefully. The situation will be reviewed after twelve months to see if additional traffic calming measures are required, although there are no plans to create speed bumps.
We sincerely hope these changes will make our roads safer for all who use them and encourage more people to cycle and walk around Eynsham. We also hope the speed reduction will mitigate the negative impacts of increased traffic that we are likely to see when the various developments are built nearby.
If anyone is interested in joining the Community Speedwatch Group to help with monitoring and enforcement, please email Tricia Crowley tricia.crowley@eynsham-pc.gov.uk. We are not yet able to confirm what date the new speed limits will be implemented and enforceable. This news will be shared via the website as soon as we have it.