Didcot Northern Perimeter Road

Congestion warning over station revamp

DRIVERS in Didcot will face traffic gridlock for months once work gets under way on a new £6.7m railway station forecourt, a leading councillor has warned.

Earlier this year, Oxfordshire County Council approved a plan to landscape the forecourt at Didcot Parkway to benefit pedestrians, car drivers, buses and cyclists.

The work will take 18 months and Margaret Davies, leader of the town council, is warning that a drainage scheme which is part of the improvements could create major delays.

She said work to lay a pipe between the station forecourt and Cow Lane Bridge would cause major delays for drivers on a busy cross-town route.

She added: “In rush hour, commuter traffic will be gridlocked and there will be some displacement of traffic onto Broadway. There could be traffic delays for about six months.”

County council spokesman Louise Mendonca said the likely start date for the scheme was this October. She added: “The first stage is for the contractor to firm up on the final contract programme.

“This will involve a series of meetings to formalise procedures and timescales for approvals necessary for the project to proceed.”

Didcot Chamber of Commerce chairman Mike Foster said: “There will be some delays for drivers, but you have to take some short-term pain to get long-term gain, and the idea of improving the forecourt is to bring in more visitors.”

Resurfacing work will begin on August 6 on the A4130 perimeter road in Didcot.

A 50-metre stretch of the northern approach to the Basil Hill roundabout will be resurfaced.

The work will take three nights to complete.

During this time, the A4130 will be closed to traffic between the Basil Hill and Hawksworth roundabouts, with a diversion on to Station Road, Hitchcock Way, and the remaining section of the perimeter road.

County council announces plans to change speed limits on local ...

FAMILIES have welcomed proposals to cut speed limits on key routes in southern Oxfordshire — but raised concerns about plans to increase others.

Oxfordshire County Council has carried out a review of speed limits on A and B roads in line with Government guidance.

This week, it released a list of proposed changes which could be introduced as early as next year.

The council is asking the public what it thinks about cutting limits on the outskirts of Wantage, stretches of the A4074 near Wallingford, and part of the A4183 Oxford Road north of Abingdon.

They are also considering lowering the speed limit on Didcot’s northern perimeter road, the A4130, from 60mph to 50mph, and on the B4493 between the A4130 and Foxhall Road, Didc ot, from 60mph to 40mph.

Bill Service, leader of Didcot Town Council, said: “It’s a really good idea to reduce the speed limit on the perimeter road because it runs around the edge of the major housing estate which makes up a large part of the town.

“The town council has actually asked for it to be reduced further to 40mph. It will reduce the potential for accidents.”

Between 2004 and 2008, there esd one fatal accident and 16 other accidents on the perimeter road.

The limit could be cut from 50mph to 40mph on the A4074 near Benson and a 50mph limit extended south to the junction with Benson Lane and Crowmarsh.

Three people have died in five years on the road and there have also been 22 other accidents.

Bill Pattison, chairman of Benson Parish Council, wants the speed limit reduced even further to 30mph near the village.

He said: “Since the bus stops have been put in, we really need people to be able to cross the road safely down by Benson marina. Between the two roundabouts, people do use it as a racetrack.”

At the Crowmarsh Gifford roundabout, where the A4130 and A4074 converge, a 40mph limit could replace a 30mph limit.

Nigel Hannigan, of Crowmarsh Gifford Parish Council, said: “If they want to increase the speed limit and not bring in other safety measures, then it’s a bad idea. Traffic needs to be slowed on that roundabout, not increased. The average speed someone crosses that roundabout is 47 mph. Coming from Reading, it’s just a small chicane.”

THE PROPOSED CHANGES ON LOCAL ROADS ABINGDON AREA A4183 Oxford Road (length of Oxford Road north of the A4183/ A34 junction) — consider 60mph to 50mph.

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