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TRANSPORT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE –
4 MARCH 2004

ADDENDA

 

  1. Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

Councillor Anne Purse

4. Petitions and Public Address

Two petitions have been received in relation to Item 5 (Summertown Controlled Parking Zone):
  • From Professor Martin Biddle on behalf of the Residents of Hamilton Road (103 signatures) in the following terms:

"We, the undersigned, residents of Hamilton Road, are concerned that our representations for residents-only parking in the greater part of Hamilton Road appear to have been ignored in evaluating responses to the recent consultation process. Even if officials’ estimates of a maximum of 200 business parking permits issued are correct (the earlier written guarantee that this would be the maximum appears to have been abandoned), we believe – on current evidence of parking patterns – that the majority of business permit holders are likely to congregate in the roads nearest to Summertown and those, like Hamilton Road, opposite large office blocks on the west side of Banbury Road.

We therefore wish:
    1. the Draft Summertown Parking Order to be amended to restrict to residents-only a substantial proportion of the currently proposed parking bays in Hamilton Road;
    2. to receive written assurance that use of a business parking permit for commuting purposes will be regarded by the Council as an abuse of the permit leading to its prompt withdrawal; and that parking for a substantial period during normal business hours will be accepted as sufficient evidence of such abuse;
    3. to have recorded in the minutes of the Committee that the parking scheme will be reviewed eighteen months after its introduction and that residents’ concerns will be addressed in detail at that time.
  • From Linda O’Hanlon on behalf of the Residents of Lonsdale Road (67 signatures) in the following terms:

We, the undersigned, are concerned that our representations for "residents only" parking in Lonsdale Road appear to have been ignored in the recent consultation process. Even if officials’ estimates of a maximum of 200 business parking permits issued are correct (the earlier written guarantee that this would be the maximum appears to have been abandoned), we believe – on current evidence of parking patterns – that the majority of business permit holders are likely to congregate in the western end of Lonsdale Road, this being the nearest to most of the shops and businesses in Summertown.

We therefore wish:

1. the Draft Summertown Parking Order to be amended to restrict to "residents-only" a substantial proportion of the currently proposed parking bays in Lonsdale Road between numbers 2 and 62 and numbers 39 and 81;

2. to receive written assurance that use of a business parking permit for commuting purposes will be regarded by the Council as an abuse of the permit leading to its prompt withdrawal; and that parking for a substantial period during normal business hours will be accepted as sufficient evidence of such abuse;

3. the proposed review of the parking scheme to be brought forward from eighteen months to six months after its introduction and any residents’ concerns addressed.

Request

Item

Linda O’Hanlon, 28 Lonsdale Road

Professor Martin Biddle, 19 Hamilton Road

Mrs P Dodd, 6 Lonsdale Road

Richard Davy, 70 Hamilton Road

Councillor Jean Fooks

Councillor Jean Fooks

Graham Jones, ROX

Tony Joyce

 

Sarah Hayward, 33 Beaumont Street

 

Graham Jones (as Local Resident)

Councillor Mrs C Fulljames

 

Councillor Alan Bryden

 

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)5. Summertown Controlled Parking Zone

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6. North Oxford Controlled Parking Zone

7. Oxford Central Area – Variations to Waiting, Parking, Traffic Management and Parking Places for Pedal Cycles Orders

8. Beaumont Street/Gloucester Street/St John Street Oxford – Traffic Signals

13. Oxford – Wolvercote Roundabout

14. Proposed Weight Restriction B430 Weston-on-the-Green Initial Consultation

17. Abingdon, St Nicolas CE Primary School Better Ways to School Scheme


7. Oxford Central Area – Variations to Waiting, Parking, Traffic Management and Parking Places for Pedal Cycles Orders

The following submission has been received from Mrs P Watson, 8 Holywell Street, Oxford in respect of the proposals set out at Item 4(a), Annex 1 to the report.

"I wish please to object to 4(a) of Annex 1 which refers to additional cycle parking places in Jowett Walk. My comments are:

      1. the attractive nature and view of Jowett Walk, lined with lovely trees, would be spoilt by the ugliness of cycle stands;

      2. such cycle stands would not generally be of use. Visitors, shoppers arriving by cycle, and resident persons like myself do not need and would not use them;

      3. Balliol College is erecting a multi-million pound hostel building, which will house students on the north side of Jowett Walk. The students, and other persons attending the building, would be well and better served by Balliol on-site cycle provision. Their cycles would be safe and protected from theft, damage and the elements (rain). The Balliol site is huge with plenty of space for a dedicated cycle-park;

      4. according to the Oxford Mail (4 February 2004) the improvements money comes from a development fund to improve Oxford’s community facilities. If money were spent on Jowett Walk cycle racks it would effectively be a subsidy only for Balliol College (and perhaps Oxford University) and as I said in (iii) above their own students would be better served by on-site cycle parking at the college (university) expense. This might release some money for improvements to benefit Oxford’s general community fund;

      5. cycle stands on the pavement in Jowett Walk would further encourage cyclists in this area to cycle on the pavement. I in my 70’s and not nippy, have been previously hit by student cyclists on the pavements in High Street, Holywell Street and Broad Street;

      6. many pedestrians use the Jowett Walk pavement. These not only include old folk but mothers (as I once was) using Jowett Walk with prams/buggies and /or toddlers and young children. These would be in danger from cyclists on the pavement encouraged there by cycle stands.

Thank you for your attention."

18. Grove Street Wantage Traffic Calming

Councillor Jim Moley (Local Member) has expressed broad support for the proposals and feels that the objections have largely been met. However, he would like to see the scheme monitored in order to gauge improvements to road safety.

21E. Shipston-on-Stour and Banbury/Chipping Norton Bus Services Reviews

Exempt Annex 2 to the circulated report is attached for those entitled to receive it.

Councillor Robert Evans has submitted the following comments in respect of Contract Reference No: PT/ V 137 & 142 Chipping Norton to Stratford via Shipston.

In submitting these comments as local member, I have consulted with my two fellow Town Council Transport Representatives. There has also been a discussion about this service at a Chipping Norton Town Council Meeting and we have informally surveyed aspects of the service as Transport Representatives.

There has been considerable concern at Warwickshire County Council’s original proposal to withdrawal this service for both weekdays and weekends. The Town Council contacted the Warwickshire parishes of Long and Little Compton and was dismayed to learn that the parish councils were quite unaware of the proposed withdrawal of service! They are also writing directly to Warwickshire CC.

Reasons for restoring this service are:

[a] it should be seen as a major ‘through route’ from Oxford to Stratford [indeed beyond to Birmingham] which has a particular attraction for tourists in the spring, summer and autumn periods especially at weekends. Truncating this journey with separate connections from Oxford to Chipping Norton and then CN to Stratford is a disincentive to tourism;

[b] it is attractive as a shopper and day-tripper service at weekends for local people and visitors;

[c] with the imminent closure of Parker Knoll Furniture Factory in Chipping Norton [400 redundancies by Dec 31 2004, 140 of them within the immediate town area] more public transport routes will be required to enable people to find alternative work;

[d] Warwickshire villages south of Shipston such as Long and Little Compton look to Chipping Norton for shopping, services (doctors and dentists, banks and building societies), as well as employment and entertainment, as do the Oxfordshire villages of Salford and Over Norton. Parish Clerks of Long and Liitle Compton have confirmed that their villagers look to Chipping Norton for services in equal proportion to Shipston. Warwickshire’s future strategy to develop services from Shipston to Banbury therefore leaves these villages rather stranded in terms of public transport links to 50% of their preferred services.

The recent change of heart by Warwickshire County Council is very much welcomed. I would urge the TIC to support the renegotiated Sunday and Saturday service contracts and also the beginning and end of day services to Stratford Monday to Friday. However, I do have reservations as to whether the latter are the most viable daily journeys to support. On two occasions, I have observed that there were no passengers waiting for the 07.28 to Stratford [as I was on the X8 to Kingham at the bus stop opposite] and on one occasion I saw 3 passengers alight at Chipping Norton from the last bus at 18.05. Clearly, Stagecoach and Warwicks CC are confident that these services are worth supporting with a revised contract and it would be extremely expensive for OCC alone to negotiate an alternative contract on different daytime journeys.

I would though suggest that this is looked at carefully in the forthcoming Chipping Norton area review, whilst accepting a very reasonable contract in the interim period. The Transport Reps and Town Council believe that there is potential to examine a weekday minibus/shuttle service around Warwickshire and Oxfordshire villages south of Shipston to Chipping Norton. There is, in our view, potential to reorganise aspects of the X8 and 20 services to accommodate this. I would urge that this possibility is seriously investigated in the area review.

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