Funding for Science Vale Cycle Network

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Last week the Government announced funding for infrastructure projects. Part of the Oxfordshire Growth Deal was £4.9 million for the Science Vale Cycle Network (£4.5m from Government and £0.4m from Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. In addition to this we learned on Friday that an extra £1 million has been awarded to Science Vale Transport Projects from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). Although the LSTF money includes other transport projects it does include money for re-surfacing the Sustrans route 544 section just before the Campus from the Wantage direction and other cycle track repairs.

This is good news and hopefully we will see a properly connected and convenient cycle network evolve over the next few years.

Please let HarBUG know your thoughts on the Harwell Link Road, Hagbourne Hill and Featherbed Lane / Steventon Hill consultations.
We would like your thoughts this week to allow us to put a HarBUG response in, but feel free to put in individual reponses as well, in fact the more responses the better for cycling.
A few points to consider:
Harwell Link Road

    • From the proposed roundabout on the Wantage Road, the shortest route to the Fermi Avenue roundabout will be via Harwell village and the (upgraded) Winnaway; 2.5 miles (4.04km). The new link road and Hagbourne Hill will be; 3.32 miles (5.34km).
    • The roundabout on the Wantage Road has no provision for cyclists going into or out of Harwell village which will be the main cycle route to the Campus.
    • The new link road has cycle provision, which will be good in the future for the expansion of Valley park.
    • The roundabout design, on the Wantage Road, does not take into account that there will also be a fourth, northern, arm for the Valley Park link road to the A4130 and the Science Bridge.

Hagbourne Hill

  • The Chilton Road will be closed to motorised traffic – Hurray.
  • The Hagbourne Hill will now become a main road from Didcot. We have accepted, in the past, that the Sustrans route 544 from the A34 bridge to the A4130 crossing is not suitable for road bikes as they could divert on the road towards Chilton. Now with the road becoming a main road and the Chilton interchange upgrade should we push for an upgrade to the Sustrans route to allow for all types of cycles to be able to use the track?
  • The Hagbourne Hill road will have a 40mph speed restriction, but who is going to take any notice of it? We need to ensure that cyclists can cross the road safely at the top of the hill. At the minimum some warning signs.

Steventon Hill / Featherbed Lane Lights

  • There is no provision for cyclists along this stretch, despite it being regularly used for cyclists from Abingdon and villages in that direction. Also cyclists from Wantage going to Milton Park.
  • This section is the the most dangerous part of the route from Abingdon and needs cycle provision not make things worse.
  • The carriageway is being widened for extra vehicle lanes why not add cycle lanes.

 

Home › Forums › Funding for Science Vale Cycle Network

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    • July 13, 2014 at 8:47 pm #2236
      admin
      Member

      News on funding for Science Vale Cycle Network.
      Also points to consider on the Harwell Link road, Hagbourne Hill and Featherbed Lane / Steventon Hill traffic lights.

      [See the full post at: Funding for Science Vale Cycle Network]

    • July 14, 2014 at 8:25 am #2238
      TraceyA
      Member

      As a resident of West Hagbourne, the proposed upgrade to Hagbourne Hill fills me with horror. We already have more traffic than a small village can handle at rush hour, and the upgrade will make the route through our village more attractive to drivers from the east side of Didcot who are going south on the A34 or coming to site. Further, anyone coming from site or off the A34 at the Chilton junction, especially after the northbound exit/entry slips have been put in place, will turn right to go through West Hagbourne rather than go all the way to the new link road.

      I’m not sure how clear it is, but another change is that the exit from West Hagbourne onto the A417 will become left turn only. Again, for village residents, anyone wanting to go towards Rowstock will now have to turn left onto the A417 and go all the way around the new roundabout. Not a big deal, maybe, but it’s very exasperating that no thought seems to have been given to the consequences for West Hagbourne.

      What does this have to do with cyclng? Not much, except that cycling through West Hagbourne will be even more dangerous and unattractive than it is now – I’m just one angry & annoyed West Hagbourne resident, and this topic gave me the opportunity to vent!

    • July 14, 2014 at 8:39 am #2239
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      The “original” plan (which has probably now been cheapened ) was for a road from the Didcot link road up through “Valley Park” to the Reading Road which you then drive along to get to the Hagbourne Hill roundabout. The concerns you note were to be covered by stuffing W. Hagbourne (and Harwell) full of traffic calming measures to deter people from using these routes. Didcot people would have to drive towards Harwell then up the new road (or cycle of course). How much of this will be “affordable” or “do-able at the same time” is a different matter of course…..

    • July 14, 2014 at 11:42 am #2240
      mea00csf
      Member

      With the new link road running alongside the A34, I would think the traffic through West Hagbourne would reduce not get worse. WH is already a pinch point if I drive (I live East Hagbourne and a lot of people who currently use Park Road from Didcot to Coscote would start using the new link road?

      I definitely think upgrades are required to the Sustrans track over Hagbourne Hill. It seems crazy not to! But a concern would be how easy it will be to cross the road at the top now it is a main road. Visibility isn’t great at the moment and would need improving from all directions.

    • July 14, 2014 at 12:02 pm #2241
      mika3l
      Member

      For the record here’s what I submitted on line to the council.
      I regular experience motorists overtaking inappropriately (& potentially dangerously) especially along the top of Hagbourne Hill.The plans to straighten and flatten the top of Hagbourne Hill are good plans. However I understand there will be a lot more traffic along that route adding to the danger and potential conflict between motorists and
      cyclists.
      As a cyclist the plan to make Chilton Road a traffic free route is obviously welcome. The cycle route 544 continues past Hagbourne Farm, across the A34 and down that way to the Harwell Campus. The problem is that the length of route 544 from the A34 to Harwell Campus is very rough, and basically NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE. I ride a small wheeled folding bike and there is no way I could use that route regularly. I need to keep to tarmac. In the context of the increased traffic over Hagbourne Hill I would strongly encourage you to tarmac this stretch of route 544 to make it a viable cycle route over its complete length

    • July 14, 2014 at 12:05 pm #2242
      TraceyA
      Member

      The new link road will be a longer (in distance) journey for many in Didcot; unless it’s significantly shorter in time, people will continue to use West Hagbourne, and if the road over Hagbourne Hill is wider and better surfaced, more people will choose to use that route. Don’t forget, there are houses about to go up along Park Road, and in the future Ladygrove is to be extended eastwards; it really doesn’t seem likely that residents in the new housing will opt to go out of their way to use the link road. For people heading north, why would someone come down Hagbourne Hill and opt to drive *past* the first turning towards Didcot, unless they live in Harwell or off Wantage Road? Perhaps I’m being unduly pessimistic, but I’ve lived in West Hagbourne for 24 years and I’ve seen the traffic get heavier and heavier; the the traffic modellers at SODC/OCC cannot make their models match what’s happened over the last decade in our village and have consistently predicted decreasing traffic which is completely the opposite of what Parish Council-run traffic surveys have demonstrated.

      Sorry to be so pessimistic – I suppose it won’t matter when we’re all part of Greater Didcot.

    • July 14, 2014 at 8:28 pm #2243
      admin
      Member

      Just a couple more thoughts:
      Hagbourne Hill; what happens when Didcot traffic starts queuing at the Chilton Interchange first new roundabout or to get to the Fermi Avenue roundabout. Will they be tempted to try and use the Sustrans 544 track as a cut through to the Campus? We have seen this happen before.

      Steventon / Featherbed Lane lights; There will be additional traffic in that area from the Tesco.com warehouse that will be built at Milton Hill Business Park. Although the shift patterns will miss peak times there will be HGV supplies in and many van deliveries out.

      • July 15, 2014 at 7:12 am #2245
        Anonymous
        Inactive

        Re “short-cutters”: an approach I’ve seen on Swindon roads is to take advantage of the difference in wheelbase between normal cars and vehicles like ambulances (tractors?) and have quite severe sleeping policemen with “cut-outs” to allow these wide wheelbase vehicles (and bicycles) through without hinderance.

        This doesn’t address all cases, but perhaps adding a gate or two at strategic points may help as well.

    • July 15, 2014 at 7:11 am #2244
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I think your first point is a very good one and why I (personally) would be very wary about putting a proper road surface on it. It is a bridleway (I believe) and not a BOAT (or whatever they are called now) but the farmer(s) would wish to continue using it so it can’t be closed off. The Tesco stuff is just one of those things that could happen anywhere and will have to be tackled separately

    • July 19, 2014 at 12:44 pm #2259
      mea00csf
      Member

      Wrong, the route is a “Restricted Byway” which is a bit of confusing right of way. This website is the definitve map for oxfordshire:
      http://publicapps.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content/publicnet/council_services/environment_planning/countryside/Map/ROW/row.html

      Wikipedia (I know, I know) says:

      “On 2 May 2006 the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 reclassified all remaining Roads Used as Public Paths as restricted byways. The public’s rights along a restricted byway are to travel:

      on foot
      on horseback or leading a horse
      by any vehicle (e.g. bicycles, horse-drawn carriages) other than mechanically propelled vehicles (e.g. motorbikes or cars) unless vehicular rights pre existed then the act did not extinguish those rights”

      Other sources say they’re not open to motorised traffic. I would guess the farm and the water authority (?) have access rights over the Restricted Byway, but in general, it’s not open to traffic, just my guess though.

    • July 19, 2014 at 10:41 pm #2260
      LS
      Member

      I use the Featherbed Lane route daily, and am not delighted at the proposals. By smoothing it for cars they will be encouraging more of them, making it more frightening than it already is for cyclists. I doubt if a 40mph speed limit will do much – I expect that if the road is made open most cars will ignore the speed limit. Currently speed is kept down by the twists and turns that are to be removed.

      There is no reasonable alternative route for cyclists, so I think that these changes should not be made without including quality provision for cyclists. By making this road faster for cars, and encouraging more cars onto it, they will be making an unattractive cycling route even less attractive – ie, they will be removing cycling provision. At their transport consultation they said that one of the four things the council had to do was to encourage ‘active transport’. I think that the proposed changes in Featherbed Lane will directly discourage active transport.

    • September 23, 2014 at 12:55 pm #2320
      andyh
      Member

      Can just ask if there was an official Harbug response made to the proposed Science Vale Cycle Network?

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