County Council proposals for the A40 Park & Ride and bus lane (R3.0057/19) are back with many clarifications and updates.
The plans show no material change, with devastating impact on existing biodiversity; and pay lip-service only to links with Salt Cross / Eynsham West. It’s the wrong solution to the wrong problem, says parish councillor Mark Zumbuhl - view EPC response.
Dualling the stretch from Witney to Eynsham may simply shift the bottleneck west. And new plans for the approach to Wolvercote roundabout seem unlikely to improve the flow of traffic while the vital A40 / A44 link remains unfunded.
On the bright side, OCC has unanimously adopted Cllr Charles Mathew’s call for a long-term strategy to include ‘serious consideration of a rail link from Carterton, Witney and Eynsham to Oxford.’ And the government ‘Restoring Your Railway Fund’ offers up to 75% of costs for making a business case, IF the bid is sponsored by a local MP as well as local councils. So you know what to do...
Meantime, November’s head-on collision near Willow Cottage Nursery has prompted an online petition. It calls on OCC to ‘reduce the speed limit, exclude aggregate lorry traffic and facilitate cycling’ on Lower Road: details on change.org