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Consultant
Recommendations
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DES
Comments
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Cycling
In order to
encourage more cycling for all types of journey up to a medium distance
and to reduce reliance on cars, the consultants recommend an extensive
network of joined up routes. The network includes key routes leading
from Didcot, other mainly rural routes and a finer network of routes
within Didcot. This will mean improving existing routes and creating
new routes both on and off road.
Recommended
improvements include crossings at main roads, safer junctions, traffic
calming and cycle parking. Total cost of these measures could be
in the region of £5m. Cycling promotional measures are also recommended.
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Implementation
of these recommendations would provide good safe routes to key destinations
from Didcot and generally within Didcot. For those able to cycle
this would become an attractive alternative to travelling by car.
All the proposals would need careful detailed design and local consultation
to satisfy local concerns. There would therefore be extensive preparation
work which would need to be spread over several years. The aim should
be to complete the proposed network within a programme that gives
priority to the improvements that will give the greater benefits.
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Bus Services
The consultants
recommend improving the reliability, frequency, and convenience
of the bus services. The largest change would be to increase the
frequency of the service via Milton Park to Abingdon and Oxford
to 15 minutes and to divert it to serve the new housing area to
be developed west of Didcot. The service would be diverted onto
A34 between Milton and Abingdon and bus priority measures may be
needed within Abingdon and along A34.
New regular
hourly services are recommended between Didcot and the Astons and
between Didcot and Berinsfield. Within Didcot the former D3 town
service would be replaced by separate hourly services
- to serve
the station and areas to the south of Broadway (as recently introduced),
and
- to serve
the station and areas north of Broadway.
An additional
peak period service to serve the station, south Didcot and Milton
Park is proposed.
The consultants
also recommend new shelters at bus stops, improved timetable integration
and inter-service ticketing.
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In making these
recommendations the consultant has considered the expected passenger
market demand, the operational fleet requirements and operational
costs. The programme for introducing these improvements will range
from the town service that has recently been introduced to the improved
frequency rerouted service to Milton Park, Abingdon and Oxford,
which is dependent on progress of the major housing area to be developed
west of Didcot. Bus priority measures will need to be considered
in the A34 multi modal study.
Together, these
improvements would substantially increase the convenience and opportunities
for people to travel to and within Didcot by bus, without unreasonable
subsidy requirements. It is expected that the housing development
west of Didcot would contribute to the costs, particularly of introducing
the improved frequency of services to Abingdon and Oxford.
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Didcot Station
Changes to
the station forecourt are recommended to reduce congestion and to
improve interchange for passengers between rail, buses, taxis and
cycles, to improve access for pedestrians and to make better provision
for short stay car-born traffic. Growth in long stay car parking
is proposed to be accommodated by decking the Foxhall car park and
improving the pedestrian route to the station with a covered walkway
and lifts. Longer term improvements from the Foxhall car park might
include a travelator and direct links to platforms 2 and 3.
The consultants
comment on Railtrack aspirations to improve the level of service
by building new platforms on the avoiding lines enabling some through
trains to Oxford to stop at Didcot. The improved service is welcome
but this is considered to be expensive and it is noted that, compared
with the existing Oxford platform, passengers from Didcot or changing
trains would have much further to walk. A further proposal for a
pedestrian route through the station to Ladygrove would benefit
some passengers but could result in some "kiss and ride"
traffic and car parking pressures near the new entrance.
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The proposed
arrangements would reduce congestion and improve safety at the station
entrance. Adequate space is proposed for all bus routes to call
at the station, reducing the need for people to travel to the station
by car. In the longer term growth in rail services is likely to
attract more passengers, many of whom will arrive by car. Provision
of long term parking at Foxhall Car Park, with improved access to
the station, would help to avoid increased traffic through the centre
of the town.
Some of the
changes may take several years to achieve and will require the cooperation
of Railtrack.
The proposed
changes would increase the value of the station for Didcot, but
it has to be accepted that it may take some time to agree the detail
to achieve the changes.
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Pedestrians
The consultants
have identified a number of key routes for walking in Didcot and
recommend improvements to make them safer, more convenient and attractive.
Traffic calming is proposed on these routes to improve the pedestrian
environment. Footways along these routes should be kept in a good
state of repair. At some crossings of side streets raised pedestrian
crossing facilities are proposed; at others dropped kerbs and tactile
paving should be introduced.
A proposal
for Broadway is recommended that would reduce the traffic width
to two 3m lanes and provide parallel parking, separate cycle lanes,
raised pedestrian crossings and raised tables at junctions. The
consultants also comment on details of the Civic Trust’s report
on Didcot Town Centre.
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These proposals
would improve the attraction of Didcot as a place where pedestrians
are welcome, by reducing the amount of traffic, reducing noise and
increasing safety.
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Car
Parking at Didcot
The consultants
consider that currently there is no real shortage of parking space
in the town. Increased housing at Didcot and increasing employment
in the town centre will tend to increase demands for employee parking
throughout the day. The consultants recommend that the level of
enforcement of parking controls be reviewed so that they become
respected and effective. Some extension of the commuter parking
controls near the station should be considered. Any lack of town
centre employee car parking should be accommodated outside the central
area, but within walking distance.
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This is an
area that will need to be closely monitored once the new town centre
changes are in place and as Didcot development proceeds. A future
review of parking policy is likely to be needed.
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West Didcot
Housing Development
The consultants’
proposals for Didcot include identified pedestrian, cycle and bus
routes through and serving the housing development area. Traffic
generation from this development is included in the consultants’
assessments of proposals throughout the Didcot area.
The consultants
have assessed the proposal put forward by a developer to provide
a bridge over A4130 and the railway to make a direct link between
the development and Milton Park, and have compared this proposal
with the alternative of increasing traffic capacity at the Power
Station and Manor Bridge roundabouts. The benefits of the proposed
bridge are the improved direct routes between Didcot and Milton
Park for cyclists and buses. The disadvantages are the tendency
to increase traffic through Milton village and Sutton Courtenay,
also the high cost of the bridge that might be better spent on other
transport improvements.
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The weakness
of the bridge proposal is that it does not support the main highway
network. The consultants have shown that it is feasible to increase
the capacity of the Power Station and Manor Bridge roundabouts so
that there would be no significant delays that would trigger the
need to add bus priority measures to protect the integrity of bus
services. Improving the network in this way is a more robust provision
for the various traffic movement needs. If the bridge were to be
provided in addition, but just for use by buses and bicycles, there
would be clear benefits for these users, but it is doubtful that
the cost could be justified.
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Highway
Network
The consultants
have used a traffic model to forecast the morning peak hour traffic
in 2011 throughout the study area, taking account of future development.
Their recommendations for traffic proposals result from the evaluation
of alternative options on a range of criteria. These include targets
to reduce traffic flows to levels forecast in 2011 without the development
and to reduce delays at junctions on the major highway network to
a level that generally maintains the attraction of the major routes
over minor roads for through traffic. To make better use of the
main road network, junction capacity improvements are recommended
at Rowstock, Milton Interchange, Manor Bridge and Power Station
roundabouts and at the Avon Way roundabout on the Didcot perimeter
road.
The consultants
have investigated schemes particularly to reduce traffic through
villages near Didcot. To relieve villages south west of Didcot they
recommend adding north facing slip roads to the A34 at Chilton and
south facing slip roads at B4493, Wantage Road. However, A34 is
managed by the Highways Agency and will be the subject of a major
multi-modal study over the next two years. In the event of the new
slip roads being ruled out the consultants recommend construction
of a new link between B4493 and A417 alongside A34 to bypass Harwell.
The consultants
have found that a new river crossing near Appleford would reduce
traffic at Culham (Sutton) and Clifton Hampden bridges, but would
increase traffic in Abingdon. Also they recognise that such a scheme
could not be approved in advance of the County Transport Networks
Review and would not be available within 10 years. They recommend
that alternative measures to reduce traffic at these bridges should
be considered, including restricting the use of the bridges in the
peak hours for buses only and restriction by tolls.
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These junctions
all lie on the A4130 main road.
These alternative
proposals are significant for local traffic movement but would not
create a new major connection in the county network. Therefore promotion
of either scheme need not await the outcome of the County Transport
Networks Review. Early adoption in principle would bring forward
the view of the Highways Agency. Since procedures for new lengths
of highway are long in any case, an early start is indicated.
The consultants’
other recommendations for public transport improvements and improvements
to the main highway network, particularly at the junctions, reduce
the need for traffic, other than local traffic, to use these bridges.
If severe problems of through traffic persist, restraint measures
could be considered, though these may make local access less convenient.
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Traffic
Calming and Traffic Safety
The consultants
recommend traffic calming schemes for certain villages should be
drawn up in close consultation with each village. Besides reducing
vehicle speed, traffic calming can sometimes reduce through traffic.
The consultants recommend that traffic calming is appropriate only
in conjunction with street lighting.
The consultants
have drawn up outline proposals for road safety improvements at
ten junctions with safety problems. They recommend that detailed
schemes be prepared for implementation when funds become available.
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Many villages
were not happy with draft proposals and some do not want street
lighting, though village "Gateway" treatments and proposals
for speed cameras were generally well received.
Before programming,
these proposals will need detailed design, evaluation and consultation.
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