Oxfordshire County Council is planning to introduce a pilot scheme for countryside low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in an effort to encourage more active travel.
Dubbed ‘quiet lanes', the scheme allows for motor traffic to be restricted on designated roads to make them safer for people to walk, wheel, cycle and horse ride. Whilst access would still be maintained for residents, farmers, businesses and emergency services, the removal of through traffic can lower the risk and severity of collisions, according to the council.
The council has stated that these new LTNs will only be introduced where there is ‘strong local support', as well as a suitable alternative route for motor traffic.
With several quiet lanes already in place in Oxfordshire, this new pilot scheme is an enhancement to existing Department for Transport (DfT) policy, going beyond traditional signage-based lanes to achieve the safest outcomes.
All new quiet lanes in Oxfordshire are expected to include physical measures such as gates and bollards that prohibit through traffic, alongside speed limit reductions (typically 20mph) and the more traditional signage.
Cllr Rebekah Fletcher, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: ‘Quiet lanes are about making sure local roads work for the communities that live there, not as cut-throughs for traffic they were never designed to carry.
‘This new approach will help us to prioritise walking, wheeling, cycling and horse riding, and give us a clear and consistent way to provide quiet lanes where there is strong local support. We will use evidence to make sure schemes are safe, effective and sensitive to their surroundings. By piloting schemes first, we can get them right before any permanent decisions are made.'
Oxfordshire CC stated that overall journey times for drivers are ‘usually only slightly affected', as suitable alternative routes ‘must be available'.
The council now plans to work with parish and town councils and local councillors to identify and pilot new sites, with each scheme being subject to statutory consultation that will allow ‘measures to be tested in practice, evidence to be collected and designs refined' before any permanent decisions are made.
