Cycling and Walking plan for Brackley

Proposal aims to reduce car journeys in favour of walking or cycling

Initial ideas to make it easier for people to use their bikes or walk instead of using their cars in Brackley have been revealed. A draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) has been published.

The government has an ambition to make walking and cycling the natural choices for shorter journeys. Brackley is set to benefit from a project as part of High Speed Two’s commitment to ensure there are high quality cycling links along the train line’s route.

In 2013 the former Northamptonshire County Council published the Brackley Town Transport Strategy. This noted that most journeys in the town are currently undertaken by car but the majority of key amenities are less than 1 mile and residents could access them by walking or cycling if suitable infrastructure was provided.

The draft LCWIP report, which was commissioned by the Department for Transport, has identified a number of corridors in the town which are car focused and not cycle friendly, such as High Street, Banbury Road and Halse Road as well as some residential streets such as Pavillions Way and Humphries Drive.

The document also highlights that whilst some parts of Brackley could be considered “low traffic” areas there are other areas which currently facilitate through traffic. In reducing traffic flows, conditions for cycling and walking would be improved.

Proposals to reduce through traffic include road narrowing, bus gates, modal filters and a town-wide 20mph scheme. The report also suggests a review of car parking with the potential to introduce short and long stay parking as well as parking charges and an overall reduction in the number of car parking spaces to discourage short journeys by car.

As well as looking to create a cycle network in the town the report also explores a number of additional connections to settlements within a 30-minute cycle ride of Brackley town centre, including Evenley, Turweston, Radstone, Helmdon, Halse and Banbury. The link with Banbury suggests a potential longer leisure and tourism cycle route using a mix of the disused railway line, quiet rural lanes and a traffic free route along field edges near the M40.

It is expected that a public consultation will be carried out in Spring 2022. The draft LCWIP report can be found here.

Published: 02/11/2021 11:05am by Banbury FM Newsteam

Edward Horton On 02/11/2021 at 3:17 pm

Ridiculous suggestions. The people proposing this seem to think all residents and visitors are in their twenties and super fit. Some of are elderly (I’m 80) and walking more than a few hundred yards is out and cycling is a non-starter. Anyway, how are people expected to carry shopping home on a bike. What about parents with young children who can’t walk far or cycle.
What do town centre shops think about it because all it will do is drive their customers elsewhere.
If the idea is to reduce pollution, it won’t. Slowing traffic means driving in a lower gear and more pollution. Reducing car park spaces means driving round and round looking for a space and more pollution.
The answer to less pollution is to make it easier to drive somewhere not more difficult.
Brackley won’t be the first place to provide a network of cycle lanes and in my experience they are little used, if at all. There are retail parks that provide places where shoppers can leave cycles but they are all empty.
It will be a total waste of money

Edward Horton On 02/11/2021 at 3:17 pm

Ridiculous suggestions. The people proposing this seem to think all residents and visitors are in their twenties and super fit. Some of are elderly (I’m 80) and walking more than a few hundred yards is out and cycling is a non-starter. Anyway, how are people expected to carry shopping home on a bike. What about parents with young children who can’t walk far or cycle.
What do town centre shops think about it because all it will do is drive their customers elsewhere.
If the idea is to reduce pollution, it won’t. Slowing traffic means driving in a lower gear and more pollution. Reducing car park spaces means driving round and round looking for a space and more pollution.
The answer to less pollution is to make it easier to drive somewhere not more difficult.
Brackley won’t be the first place to provide a network of cycle lanes and in my experience they are little used, if at all. There are retail parks that provide places where shoppers can leave cycles but they are all empty.
It will be a total waste of money

Daniel Moodie On 07/09/2022 at 12:25 am

Sounds like a good idea, it seems ridiculous that there is currently no safe way to travel around brackley by bike. Given the price of fuel and the need for greener modes of transport, it is essential that we look to make cycling a more viable proposition for as many people as possible.