The Executive Director, Development has submitted a report to support further scheme and business case development of Connecting Oxford proposals. 

Recommendations: That Cabinet resolves to:

Endorse the overall approach proposed as the basis for further scheme and business case development of Connecting Oxford proposals in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council.

The Executive Director, Development had submitted a report to support further scheme and business case development of Connecting Oxford proposals. 

Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Sustainable Transport introduced the report. These were significant and far reaching proposals,  prepared and co-produced with the County Council. The need for them could be well summed up by the point that “doing nothing was not an option.”

The Council had been faced with difficult choices in the past about traffic management in the City and must do so again now. A failure  to do so would have detrimental social, economic and health impacts. It was well evidenced that poor air quality affected physical and mental health and educational attainment. It had become clear that a significant number of people who would otherwise ride bicycles in the City were deterred by the fear of having to share the road with motor vehicles and the absence of safe and adequate cycle lanes. One consequence of congestion in the City was that bus companies were having to provide about one third more buses than there was demand for in terms of number of seats and passenger numbers were falling. Some bus services had already been lost and there was a risk that others might follow. There was a need to reallocate the finite amount of road space to other users.  The introduction of bus gates should reduce car traffic by about 40%, so lessening congestion, increasing the rate of flow and removing the need for bus lanes, provide an opportunity to improve the quality of dedicated cycle lanes and the pedestrian environment. The other important element of the proposal would be the introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy. It was clear that a lot of detailed work  had yet to be done, a lot of questions to be asked and challenges to be addressed.  In the meantime it was important not to lose sight of the overarching reasons behind and the need for significant changes to traffic management in the City.

Mish Tullar, Corporate Policy, Partnership and Communications Manager, emphasised the significance of the proposals as a joint initiative with the County Council, whose  own Cabinet had endorsed them the previous day before. The proposals would be funded for the most part by the Oxfordshire Growth Deal and further Government funding would be bid for. The initial consultation had generated over 3000 responses, the majority of which were from within the City and the majority of which recognised the need for action.

Cabinet members were very supportive of the proposals and in discussion raised a number of matters which would need to be addressed as the detail was worked up. These included:

·         The importance of phasing elements of the proposals, so that, for example the introduction of bus gates would coincide with the introduction of improved services across the City

·         The desirability of  close partnership with the bus companies

·         Buses were an important shared community space and invaluable to, among others, those experiencing mental health challenges. An improved service would enable many more to make use of them and contribute to their independence.

·         Consideration should be given to the introduction of a young person’s bus pass within the City.

·         Cycle lanes were needed which were not only safe but fully accessible to wheelchair bicycles and   cargo bicycles.

·         There would, inevitably, be many arguments for various categories of user to be excluded from the proposals restrictions. Viewed singly they would often seem deserving. Great care and resolve would be needed to ensure that exceptions did not start, collectively, to undermine the overarching ambition of the proposals and the effectiveness of the scheme.

·         Transparency of the evidence behind the proposals would remain important.

·         The location of the bus gates was important and care should be taken to ensure that they did not, inadvertently divide communities.

While there was no consensus for it at the moment, Cabinet agreed that there would be merit in exploring the potential for expanding the  Work Place Parking Levy beyond  the area currently proposed and that this should be pursued in discussion with partners.

Cabinet resolved to:

Endorse the overall approach proposed as the basis for further scheme and business case development of Connecting Oxford proposals in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council.