Agenda and minutes

To receive and consider apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Maria Wheatley from West Oxfordshire District Council and Councillor Duncan Enright (OCC).

Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting.  Any member of the public who so wishes may speak, at this point in the meeting, for a maximum of five minutes on any matter relating to an item on the agenda.

There was no public participation.

Resolved:

That, the minutes of the Witney Traffic Advisory Committee held on 11 January 2022 be approved and signed by the Chair.

T8 Corndell Gardens/Corn Street. A member raised the issue of poor visibility when turning from Corndell Gardens into Corn Street, this had been discussed at the last meeting. Odele Parsons will follow this up.

T6 Action Plan. The Deputy Town Clerk advised that going forward, the Action Plan would be dropped, and that Members and Officers would more actively use the minutes to drive items forward.

To review the Terms of Reference of the Witney TAC

Members discussed the current Terms of Reference, and what improvements could be made to the list of representatives. Suggestions for additions included a taxi representative, a Chamber of Trade contact, and a last-mile delivery driver representative.

Resolved:

1. That, Volunteer Link-up be removed, and,

2. That, the Deputy Town Clerk will contact the Chamber of Commerce and invite a representative, and,

3. That, the Deputy Town Clerk will contact Licensing at West Oxfordshire District Council to discuss a possible taxi driver representative, and,

4. That, going forward the Committee will continue to consider membership from any relevant traffic/travel parties that are not currently represented.

To receive and consider the report of the Principal Officer – Traffic Schemes Area Operations (North)

The Principal Officer introduced Natalie Moore from Oxfordshire County Council. Natalie would be representing OCC on this committee for the rest of this year whilst Odele Parsons has other commitments.

The committee received and considered the report of the Principal Officer concerning updates on several projects underway in Witney. Included within this were updates on the Windrush Bike Project Barriers Report, Schemes to be delivered from Windrush Place S106 funding, the Witney Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), the A40/B4022 Shores Green access, the design for accommodating the traffic restrictions on High Street, a Low Traffic Neighbourhood Scheme at Burwell, the emerging Local Transport & Connectivity Plan, Public Transport at Windrush Place and Speeding at Curbridge Road.

A member questioned whether there was any more detail on the timing of implementation of works to the High Street, in particular whether any signage might be forthcoming – there is currently no signage in place to support the Order. Members further questioned the implementation of the scheme and whether there was any indicative layout or early plans.

Members were updated that design work is progressing and that stakeholders and particularly frontage businesses would be invited to a charette to develop a masterplan. The new layout could include wider footways, a narrower roadway, increased seating, increased outdoor event space. The design will be more about activities and less about traffic.

A member raised the traffic order in the area fronting The Angel pub and asked if this is expired.

A member raised the issue of the cycle lane on Corn Street being too narrow and requested that it be reviewed.

Resolved:

1. That, the report be noted; and

2. That officers will seek an update from West Oxfordshire District Council clarifying the expiry date of the traffic order outside of The Angel pub; and

3. The issue of cars parking in part of the cycle lane (car door buffer) has been reported in the ‘snagging’ list for Corn Street. Issues raised regarding the safety of the Corn Street cycle lanes running adjacent to the car parking spaces, will be audited as part of the LCWIP; and

4. Oxfordshire County Council officers will continue to follow up timeframes and status of remedial works required for the anticipated start of the bus service route for Windrush Place; and

5. Oxfordshire County Council officers will review the road markings on the slip roads for entering and exiting the A40 at Ducklington Lane, with a view to provide a clearer indication of traffic direction for pedestrians wishing to cross the slip road, potentially ‘Look Left/Look Right’ road markings; and

6. Oxfordshire County Council officers will review a request from a member to re-instate the ‘SLOW’ road marking on Valence Crescent near Tesco, that hasn’t been re-painted following the recent re-surfacing works.

To review the experimental TRO that introduced parking restrictions on Corn Street. The order came into force on 24^th December 2021. The effect of the order removes a 15-metre section of unrestricted parking on Corn Street to create a continuous section of double yellow lines.

Members discussed the parking issues on Corn Street, it was raised that a lack of parking enforcement limits the effectiveness of double-yellow lines, but safety improvements are welcomed.

Resolved:

That, the correspondence be noted.

To receive the latest Avenue Two Parking Restrictions revised plan response, submitted to Oxfordshire County Council, as agreed by the Witney Town Council Planning Committee.

The Deputy Town Clerk re-iterated that safety was at the heart of the Town Council’s formal consultation response. It was confirmed that the proposal was being heard at an Oxfordshire County Council meeting on 24^th March 2022.

Resolved:

That, this committee will be updated on the decision at the next meeting.

To receive an update on the 20MPH Scheme for Witney. Update as given to the Chair (02/03/22) from Tim Shickle at Oxfordshire County Council.

The Deputy Town Clerk gave a verbal update confirming that the 20MPH Working Party had submitted suggestions for areas and zones within Witney that could benefit from the reduction in vehicle speed limit. Oxfordshire County Council are reviewing the feasibility of this and will come back to the working party for another meeting before any consultation process is started.

Resolved:

That, further updates will be brought to this committee as the project progresses.

To consider correspondence from a resident regarding queuing traffic at the Burford Road car wash.

The committee received and considered correspondence from a Witney resident regarding the matter of queuing traffic at the car wash on the Burford Road. The matter was discussed by members of the committee with differing opinions on whether the queues presented a danger.

Resolved:

That, the Chair would visit the location at peak time and reply to the resident.

To receive the latest TVP Community Speedwatch Newsletter for information.

The chair gave a verbal update, the committee were advised that the Community Speedwatch scheme had not been able to move forward due to a lack of interested volunteers.

Resolved:

That; the committee continue to consider Community Speedwatch for Witney and that the need for the scheme should be reviewed and a new volunteer recruitment drive launched following the implementation of the 20MPH for Witney project.

To receive and consider any pressing matters from members which may be added to the next meeting agenda for consideration.

No other issues raised.

To note that the next meeting of Witney Traffic Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 7 June 2022 at 2.30pm.

Members were advised that the next scheduled meeting of this committee would be on Tuesday 7^th June 2022. Officers would continue to the monitor the situation with the Covid-19 pandemic and arrange accordingly.

Resolved:

That, the date of the next meeting be noted.