Oxfordshire changes for quiet lane speed
A meeting has taken place
Oxfordshire’s transport chief has clapped back at police as he approved the “last piece of the legal jigsaw” for the first of the county’s new ‘quiet lane’ schemes.
Speed limit reductions from 60mph to 20mph on Shepards Pit Lane in Stanton St John have been approved, Thursday, September 3, despite Thames Valley Police labelling the plan “highly inappropriate”.
The changes, which a council officer said “form part of the overall traffic measures which are being proposed as part of the quiet lane”, are the first of a ten-road experiment for the authority.
The scheme, which goes beyond Government guidance for what a ‘quiet lane’ is, using physical blocks such as bollards to restrict traffic where there is an alternative route available, has been dubbed rural LTNs and met with mixed reaction.
It is set to see “experimental orders” made at 10 locations, and Stanton St John, where a quiet lane has been planned for several years, with consultation support being the first.
Speed limit changes cannot be made within the traffic orders, which is why the 20mph decision is being made separately.
The other quiet lanes have not yet been confirmed- proposals include streets in Blackthorn Village, Fawler, Towersey, Goring, Kennington, and Aston Rowant – some roads have been removed from contention as lanes amid local opposition.
Approving the speed limit changes, county transport chief Gareth Epps said there is “clear support” for the restriction and quiet lane on Shepards Pit Lane.
He said: “I can’t let the comment from Thames Valley Police go by the wayside.”
Mr Epps explained he is “surprised that a public body such as the police” would make a comment describing a plan as inappropriate without making the vaguest attempt to say why”.
He explained he will be writing to the force to question their stance, adding, “I don’t know if this is the corporate view of the constabulary”, and saying, “I would hope they would find a more appropriate way to express their view on this,” given the force and council’s work in partnership on road safety.
Thames Valley Police have previously raised concerns about the countywide 20mph speed limit rollout, with concern about enforceability, limited police resources, risk of unfair criminalisation, and concern that unrealistic limits could be ignored and have negative impacts for road safety.
County council director of environment and highways Paul Fermer said that it is accepted that the authority is working outside the national guidance.
Mr Fermer described the comment as a “bit odd” given the police have said they will enforce 20mph.
In a report, a council officer responded to the police concern, saying the authority’s transport plan is “clear in its vision and policies around improving road safety, balancing the needs of all road users on the transport network”.