A40 Improvements Consultation Details
Oxfordshire CC consultation opens 30 November
24 November 2018
The proposals include detailed designs and plans for the proposed Eynsham Park & Ride and A40 Bus Lane scheme, and upgraded cycling facilities on the north side of the A40. Further into the future there are possibilities of extending the A40 dual carriageway at Witney to the proposed Eynsham P&R, and widening the Duke’s Cut Canal and Wolvercote Railway bridges.
For people on bikes a new path is proposed from the A40 cycle route to National Cycle Route 5 on the Oxford Canal towpath, and the long-awaited dedicated walking and cycling route from Eynsham to Botley along the B4044 is back on the agenda.
There are three public exhibitions where the plans will be on show, with council representatives on hand to answer questions. [Update 2 Dec 2018: a fourth exhibition has been added to the schedule – see below.] The exhibition arrangements are:
| Date | Time | Venue |
| Saturday 1 December 2018 | 3pm – 6pm | Cassington Village Hall (Main Hall) The Green, Cassington, OX29 4AX |
| Monday 3 December 2018 | 4.30pm – 8pm | Eynsham Village Hall (Main Hall) 46 Back Lane, Eynsham OX29 4QW |
| Wednesday 5 December 2018 | 1pm – 5pm | Witney Methodist Church (Upper Hall) 40 High Street, Witney, OX28 6HG |
| Tuesday 11 December | 5pm – 8.30pm | Witney Corn Exchange Market Square, Witney, OX28 6AB |
The Council’s notice (which you can read in full here) goes on to say:
If you are unable to attend the consultation, you can view the plans and have your say online by visiting our consultation webpage and filling out the online feedback form. The consultation will be available online between the 30 November 2018 and 1 January 2019 (closing at 11.59pm). You can access this online at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ImprovingA40. You can also access the scheme website at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/A40.
1.If the improvements increased overall traffic speed the Cuckoo Lane/A40 turn will become more tricky than ever, especially for vehicles coming from the east and turning into Cuckoo Lane that currently have to wait in the middle of the A40 awaiting the occasional gap in the eastbound flow. Major housebuilding developments in West Oxfordshire will inevitably create extra traffic density and increase this danger.
2. The scheme must include reopening the road from the Cassington lights to the Eynsham bypass (B4449) which has ben closed to through traffic for many years. This would considerably ease the pressure on the Eynsham roundabout.
Interesting choice of photograph, showing a typical mix of traffic. Look how many HGVs there are in this short stretch of traffic. They’re not going to use the Park & Ride, are they?
OCC’s own traffic survey of February 2017 shows that the majority of the traffic travelling east from West Oxfordshire carries on around the ring road towards London. A Park & Ride at Eynsham of 500, or even 1,000 spaces, is going to make precious little difference, if any, to congestion, particularly after all the new houses in West Oxfordshire have been built.
A bus lane is obviously to be encouraged, but what’s the point of having one going east, but not west?