The award of £35m to address congestion on the A40 between Witney and Oxford is very welcome. Bus lanes or a separate guided busway have been proposed; these would help to get buses to the Wolvercote roundabout faster, but not at all to address the current traffic queues from that roundabout into the city centre.

As current predictions are for a large increase in the traffic on that road, it looks as if it will take even longer than at present to reach the city centre.

What would be much better would be for the existing rail infrastructure to be used by a tram-train, linking with the main railway north of Wolvercote and thence into the city and as far as Cowley if the planned reopening of a station on the Cowley branch line is achieved. And investment of just a very small fraction of that £35m in the Eynsham-Farmoor cycle track along the B4044 would enable many people to cycle safely into the city, avoiding the main roads altogether. The county council claims to be promoting sustainable travel, cycling and walking, so this would be entirely in line with policy. The addition of up to 8,000 jobs and 500 houses on the Northern Gateway site will need much improved transport links with the surrounding area. The County Council is the Highway Authority but has failed to convince people that their proposed measures are anything like adequate to meet this challenge.

They have refused to come to a public meeting, saying that the Northern Gateway is a city scheme.

City and county councils must face up to the need to present a comprehensive Transport Strategy, including the effects of the new Oxford Parkway station and the Barton development, before pushing ahead with the Northern Gateway development.

John Howson County councillor for St Margaret’s Jean Fooks County Councillor for Wolvercote and Summertown

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