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ITEM EX11

EXECUTIVE – 14 MAY 2002

CYCLE SCHEME – ADDERBURY TO BANBURY

Report by Director of Environmental Services

Introduction

1. This report gives details of proposals for improved cycling facilities between Adderbury and Banbury which were the subject of public exhibitions in Bodicote and Adderbury on 14 and 22 March this year respectively. It also summarises the views of those who attended (using the results of the exhibition questionnaire survey). The Executive is asked to approve the commencement of detailed design work based on one of the options presented at the exhibitions.

Background

2. The Oxfordshire Structure Plan includes a series of policies designed to reduce people's reliance on the car and to increase the level of cycling and walking. The Local Transport Plan (LTP) also seeks to promote cycling and has a number of objectives and targets reflecting this. These are set out more fully in the adopted County Cycling Strategy which also includes a list of cycling schemes to be included in the LTP cycle scheme programme. This programme aims to help reduce the growth in car journeys across Oxfordshire by encouraging people to cycle to work, shops or school. Adderbury to Banbury is one of these schemes. Cherwell District Council support the County Cycling Strategy and have not registered any objections to the cycle schemes proposed for the district.

The Need for Cycling Facilities Between Adderbury and Banbury

3. The route between Adderbury and Banbury has been assessed using the County Council's cycle scheme assessment criteria which help to identify the schemes which have the greatest potential for increasing the number of cycling trips. It has been identified as a scheme which should be investigated further because it has scored so highly against the assessment criteria (the third highest scoring scheme in the cycle programme). Its high score is based on the following reasons:

• It is a relatively short distance to cycle from Adderbury to Banbury town centre (5km in total; 3km Adderbury to Bodicote; 2km Bodicote to Banbury town centre).
• The majority of the Banbury Road / Oxford Road (A4260) between Adderbury and Banbury currently has no facilities for cyclists. The road has an average of 17,150 vehicles per day travelling along it, 5.2% of which are HGVs. The speed limit is 60mph on the stretch of road between the Twyford Road and Broad Gap turnings. The route is therefore particularly unattractive to potential and existing cyclists.
• The proposed cycle route would link in with existing cycle routes in Banbury to the town centre and the railway station. The route would also pass very close to the Sustrans National Cycle Network where it passes through Bodicote.
• There are a considerable number of useful destinations in Banbury that residents of Adderbury, Twyford and Bodicote could reach by bicycle e.g. schools, places of work, shops, libraries, and leisure facilities.
• Available census information (1991) shows that over three-quarters of all journeys to work from Adderbury and Bodicote to Banbury are less than 4km.

4. In 1991, approximately 750 people from Adderbury and Bodicote drove by car to work in Banbury every day. Even a small modal shift of 5% from car commuting to cycle journeys to Banbury would result in approximately 38 new cyclists every day in addition to the 30 who currently undertake this journey by bicycle. For all these reasons, the proposed scheme would potentially have a significant number of users.
5. In addition to these work-related journeys, there are a good number of children who live in Adderbury and Bodicote who go to school in Banbury. The proposed route would mean that many of these children could make the journey to school by bicycle thereby helping to reduce the traffic congestion in Banbury associated with the school run. There would also be positive health and social benefits to these children as a result of being able to cycle to school rather than having to rely on car lifts from their parents. The route would also be useful for people going to Banbury for shopping and leisure purposes.

The Proposals

6. The scheme would provide cycling facilities along a 3.5km stretch of the A4260 Banbury Road/Oxford Road running from the northern edge of Adderbury through to the southern edge of Banbury just north of the Bankside flyover. The proposed route runs past Twyford (just north of Adderbury), as well as Bodicote (just south of Banbury). See plan in Annex 1.
7. A feasibility study for the route between Adderbury and Banbury was carried out by the engineering consultants Babtie. They concluded that there are four different options for how a cycle route could be provided (plans showing the proposals are in the Members' Resource Centre and will be on display at the meeting). These options were displayed at the public exhibitions and are briefly described in Annex 2. A more detailed description is available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
8. In all of the options, the general standards proposed are for a 2m wide shared use cycle track/footway, segregated from the carriageway of the A4260. Where the route passes close to areas where there is likely to be more pedestrian activity, the cycle track would be made wider to avoid the possibility of any conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. To help cyclists and pedestrians using or joining the route to cross the A4260, in all of the options, signal controlled crossings for cyclists and pedestrians (Toucan crossings) are proposed for just south of the Twyford Road and just south of the petrol station in Bodicote. The Pelican crossing at Mayfield Road in Banbury (just north of the Bankside flyover) is proposed to be upgraded to a Toucan.
9. Approximately £100,000 of the cost estimate under each option would pay for the two new Toucan crossings and the upgrade of one other Pelican crossing to a Toucan. These crossings would not only be of benefit to people using the cycle route but also to people living in Adderbury and Bodicote who will find crossing the very busy A4260 much easier as a result.

The Exhibitions

10. The exhibitions were held on 14 March in the Village Hall, Bodicote and on 22 March in the Parish Institute, Adderbury. Every household in Bodicote, Adderbury and Twyford was notified of the exhibitions either by the relevant village newsletter, a letter from Environmental Services or by both. The exhibitions gave background to the cycle route proposals as well as displaying plans showing the options for the improved cycling facilities described above. A questionnaire was produced which aimed to ascertain the level of support for the proposals in general and each of the design options in particular (a copy of the questionnaire is attached at Annex 3). There was opportunity on the questionnaires for those attending the exhibition to make additional comments. Present at the exhibition were officers of the County Council and representatives of the consultant Babtie.
11. One hundred and two people attended the exhibitions over the two days (35 in Bodicote and 67 in Adderbury) and a total of 84 questionnaires were completed and returned. The completed questionnaires are in the Members' Resource Centre. Seventy-two or 86% of those who completed questionnaires expressed general support for the principle of introducing improved cycling facilities between Adderbury and Banbury.
12. Of the 72 people who supported the need for improved cycling facilities, 61 indicated a preference for a particular option – 41% voted for Option 3, 23% voted for Option 2, 23% voted for Option 4 and 13% voted for Option 2.
13. Of the 36 people who said they currently cycle between Adderbury or Bodicote and Banbury, 86% said they would cycle more often if their preferred option for the route was built. Of the 46 people who do not currently cycle, 41% said they would start to cycle if the improvements were introduced.
14. Additional comments were made on 57 of the 84 completed questionnaire forms. Nine of these were positive comments about the proposals, giving additional support to the cycle route scheme. Four expressed concern at the use of Croft Lane as part of options 3 and 4 relating to the winter flooding of the footpath and possible intensification of the route by motorcyclists. Four people raised the question about whether the estimated costs of the options represented value for money.
15. The rest of the comments made on the questionnaires were on matters of detail relating to the various options. These have been recorded and where appropriate will be taken into account when any detailed design work on the cycle route takes place.

Parish Council Views

16. In November 2000, Adderbury Parish Council expressed support for an investigation of a cycle route between Adderbury and Banbury. Following the first stages of feasibility work, a meeting was held in December last year involving representatives from Bodicote and Adderbury Parish Councils. County Council officers and the consultant explained the proposals that had been developed and it was agreed as a result that a public exhibition should be held to give local people the opportunity to comment before any decision on the route was made by the Executive.
17. Bodicote Parish Council wrote on 8 January 2002 stating that their preferred option for the cycle route would be on the east side of the A4260 from the Aynho Road junction to the petrol filling station in Bodicote, ie, Option 2. Adderbury Parish Council wrote on 2 April 2002 stating that of the options presented at the exhibition in March, their preferred option was Option 3 i.e. along Croft Lane and then on the east side of the carriageway all the way into Banbury.

Officer Comments

18. The response to the proposals on display at the exhibition was very positive – 86% of those who completed questionnaires supported the need to improve cycling facilities between Adderbury and Banbury. It is on this basis that the Executive is being recommended to authorise progress on the design of a cycle route between these two places.
19. Option 3 was the most popular route on display at the exhibitions and has many benefits. It is also Adderbury Parish Council’s preferred option and the option which was the most popular amongst Bodicote residents attending. The Executive are therefore being recommended to approve more detailed design work based on Option 3. However, there are some issues which could make the implementation of this route difficult.
20. As noted earlier, comments were made at the exhibition about existing winter drainage problems along the Croft Lane route. These would need to be investigated more closely during the design process. Concerns expressed by a local resident of Croft Lane, about the possibility of Option 3 resulting in unwanted use of the route by motorcyclists, would also need to be addressed. Additionally, discussions would need to be held with the landowner about the improvement of the footpath along his field edge. All of these issues will require further investigation although they would not necessarily mean that Option 3 could not be achieved. If, however, as a result of this further investigation, the difficulties mentioned could not be satisfactorily resolved, it might be necessary to pursue one of the other options (all of which have many benefits).
21. In response to the comments made about whether the cost of the cycle route is a justifiable investment, it is estimated that in the region of 1,400,000 cycle journeys would be made on the cycle route during the initial 30-year life of the scheme. This estimate does not include any use by pedestrians who would also benefit from the new facilities.

Environmental Implications

22. Detailed design work will address any need for changes to existing highway verge and associated planting. The overall impact of the scheme would, of course, have environmental benefits in the sense that it would have the potential to reduce car use between Adderbury and Banbury.

Financial and Staff Implications

23. It is estimated that Option 3 will cost approximately £310k to implement. Funding for the scheme would be from credit approvals, subject to it being included in the Capital Programme for 2003/04. Further investigation of Option 3 and associated design work would be undertaken by the County Council's engineering consultant, Babtie, and Project Management would be carried out by Environmental Services' Traffic Engineering Section. This can be encompassed within current staffing levels.

RECOMMENDATIONS

24. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. note the results of the questionnaire survey as showing significant support for the options for improved cycling and walking facilities between Adderbury and Banbury displayed at the exhibitions;
2. approve Option 3, for the reasons set out in the report, as a basis for further investigation and detailed design and further consultations with the local councils, the local member and the police;
3. ask the Director of Environmental Services in consultation with the Executive Member for Transport, to determine the detailed design, in the light of the consultations and subject to the satisfactory resolution of the issues mentioned in paragraph 20 of the report; and
4. ask the Director of Environmental Services to take the necessary steps for the introduction of the scheme accordingly, (subject to its inclusion in a future year’s capital programme) including the promotion of any necessary formal orders, unless there are unresolved representations in response to consultation in which case these be referred back to the Executive for consideration and decision.

DAVID YOUNG
Director of Environmental Services

Background papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Craig Rossington Tel: Oxford 815575

May 2002

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