The Prime Minister claims A40 congestion is “a foot on the windpipe” of West Oxfordshire’s economy. Actually the district thrives compared with much of Britain. The foot on everyone’s windpipe is too much motoring.

Mr Cameron missed Cllr Hudspeth’s excellent “Connecting Oxfordshire” forums this summer.

The loudest and longest applause at any of these was when 100 Witney constituents welcomed a Carterton – Witney – Oxford tramway proposal.

None of them even mentioned dualling the A40, which Mr Cameron had proposed a month before.

Improving road junctions sometimes eases bottlenecks but major road enlargement encourages more traffic. Dualling seven miles of A40 from Witney to Wolvercote would take years, cost many millions and increase congestion and emissions at both ends.

Next year Chiltern Railways will open Oxford Parkway station at Water Eaton. Its trains to Bicester, High Wycombe and Marylebone will be low-carbon, but hundreds more car journeys from West Oxfordshire to Oxford Parkway will worsen congestion and emissions at already-overloaded road junctions between Wolvercote and Kidlington.

Mr Cameron also wants more of the Cotswold Line dualled, in order to increase trains to hourly. We do too, as regular buses could then be run to meet trains at Hanborough, Charlbury and Kingham.

Rather than dual the A40, we suggest a “tidal” high occupancy vehicle lane, restricted to cars with three or more occupants plus buses and taxis. It would be signal-controlled, eastbound in morning peaks and westbound in evening peaks. It would cost less, and unlike dualling would cut congestion and carbon.

Hugh Jaeger

Chairman, Bus Users Oxford

 

Today’s letters

 

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