CABINET MEMBER FOR TRANSPORT – 23 APRIL 2009
ADDENDA
1. Petitions and Public Address
3. Transform Oxford Vision and Queen Street Improvement 2009
The Head of Transport wishes to make the following additional comments:
Further details of joint working with Oxford City Council
Annex 2 highlights the fact that meetings took place with Oxford City Council, at both an officer and an area committee level, to discuss both the Transform Oxford vision and the proposed scheme for Queen Street.
The report itself highlights the fact that the air quality assessment of the Queen Street scheme was carried out with assistance from Oxford City Council’s Environmental Development team. The air quality assessment in Annex 5 gives more details of this joint working.
County council officers have also worked closely with the city council’s planning policy and conservation teams to ensure the proposals have regard for the city’s historic environment. The design proposed for Queen Street and the design and specification of enhancements to the bus stops in other streets are a product of continuous dialogue with city council officers.
The consultation response from the city council’s Head of City Development expressed general support for the proposals, but expressed concern about the proposal to use an interim finish on the pavement areas to the west of Carfax. The city council would instead prefer to see stone finishes used throughout. This point is dealt with in Annex 5, part F.
St Aldate’s and High Street frontagers (including petition)
Annex 2 under the “Queen Street Improvements” heading, an additional entry should be “St Aldate’s and High Street frontagers”.
The meetings arranged with St Aldate’s and High Street frontagers were in response to their petition expressing concern at the level of increase in the number of buses using the streets as a result of the Queen Street scheme. The petition asserted that the Queen Street scheme should wait until firm proposals are developed for reducing the number of buses in the city centre more broadly as part of stage 2 of the Transform Oxford vision. The concerns relating to the additional bus movements on St Aldate’s are addressed in detail in Annex 5 of the report.
Comments of the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee (19 March 2009) are set out below:
“The Committee received a presentation by the Head of Transport on ‘Transform Oxford’. Members welcomed in general the plans to improve the environment in the centre of Oxford for pedestrians whilst maintaining access for everyone, however they chose to travel, and the open nature of the consultation on the details of the five schemes.
The key comments to the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Head of Transport arising during debate were as follows:
The safety of all City centre users was considered to be of paramount importance;
Access to the City centre should be convenient for City centre users, in particular for less able people and shoppers returning home; this should be a major consideration in for example the reorganisation of bus stops and taxi approaches;
The plans should incorporate lane widths which were adequate for bus stopping and footways and allowed vehicle overtaking;
It was noted that congestion and air pollution could continue to be an issue, particularly in peak periods; the Committee supported continued efforts to reduce such effects;
Cycling – care should be taken in the City centre to continue the clear signage of routes and to support cycle parking;
Effective enforcement following implementation was essential.”
5. Cycling and Walking Policy Statements
A supplementary report by the Head of Transport is attached (download as .doc file).
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