This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Banbury’s revised 20mph scheme agreed
05/09/2024
The scheme has been amended to exclude key town centre routes
New 20mph speeds on the majority of roads in Banbury have been agreed, but the case brought by local councillors to retain 30mph limits on key town centre routes has been accepted.
Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Councillor Andrew Gant, accepted the proposals in an amended scheme during a meeting at County Hall.
This retains the existing 30mph limits on the Oxford Road, Bloxham Road and Southam Road, along with North Bar Street, Horsefair and South Bar Street. The A4260 Inner Relief Road will also remain at 40mph, dropping to 30mph at the traffic lights by Morrisons.
Councillor Keiron Mallon, who serves on both Banbury Town Council and Oxfordshire County Council, had pushed for earlier proposals for a wider rollout of the 20mph limit to be reconsidered.
He told today’s meeting: “I do not support large 20 mile an hour zones, even the one before you today, but I am glad that my intervention supporting the original objections – supporting the businesses – has led to common sense breaking out at Oxford County Council.
“For Banbury to thrive commercially, it needs traffic to flow through it. That is all forms of traffic.”
Paul Bonsor from Banbury Active Travel group disagreed. He wanted the new 30mph concessions to be withdrawn and felt they would compromise initiatives such as the Net Zero carbon vision.
He said: “We would like to make life easier for drivers by giving them a clear message that once you enter Banbury you need to drop your speed to 20 miles or below. Respect our community, respect our cyclists, respect our pedestrians, keep your speed down.
“Keeping the 30 mile an hour limit for 100 metres here, 200 metres there – it’s going to be very confusing.”
A parent of children at St Mary’s Primary School requested a stretch of the Southam Road from the cemetery to Warwick Road junction be deemed a 20 zone – removing the concession noted as ‘F’. Councillor Mallon highlighted that at peak times this stretch of road often ran at little more then 5 miles per hour anyway and council officers noted the road already had two crossings close to the school.
Decision maker Councillor Gant concluded: “I’m going to … agree the recommendations as drafted – it’s taken us a long time and a lot of engagement by a lot of people to get here – but with the absolutely explicit proviso that recommendation ‘F’ is kept very closely under review, perhaps asking officers to speak directly to the school.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam