Introduction
1. Oxford Civic Society warmly welcomes the commitment of Oxfordshire County Council to improving the environment in Oxford city centre, particularly for people on foot, set out in the leaflet "Transform Oxford" and the accompanying documents "Frequently asked questions" and "Where will the buses go?" It welcomes the promise of consultation and will comment in more detail on plans as they come forward. As the council acknowledges, a successful scheme will need the full involvement of Oxford City Council – a joint working party would seem advisable - and to take account of the many interests involved.
2. The Civic Society was formed to oppose destructive inner relief roads such as that across Christ Church Meadow and championed, as an alternative, Park and Ride and the Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS). The OTS has been successful in restraining general traffic in the city centre to the benefit of the environment, particularly by closing the High Street to through motor traffic except buses and taxis during the day. More people now enter the centre of Oxford by bus than by any other means.
Overview
3. The Civic Society considers:-
a) that in any plans for the city centre, access by public transport must be maintained and developed. Bus stops need to be near to where people want to be, waiting for the bus needs to be safe and comfortable, and connections between bus services need to be convenient.
b) that Transform Oxford, and the redevelopment of the West End, on which the county and city councils are already collaborating, provide an unrepeatable opportunity to re-establish convenient connections to and between bus services in the city centre. This should be pursued as a benefit of Transform Oxford and the chance to create a central interchange point between city bus routes next an extended Westgate must be taken. Proposals to turn bus services on the edge of the city centre are not the right model for a city with the geography of Oxford.
c) what exactly is meant by "pedestrianisation" must be defined since the proposals documents use the word ambiguously. Solutions balancing the interests of pedestrians, cyclists, the disabled and servicing will vary from street to street. (For example it is said that Broad Street will be "fully pedestrianised", but provision must be made for cyclists, for maintaining the viability of the Covered Market, and for access to colleges, particularly at the beginning and end of term). Pedestrianisation proposals need to reflect and enhance the different ‘day time’ and ‘evening’ experiences in individual streets. (For example, Cornmarket and part of Queen Street are at present open to cyclists from 6pm to 10am.)
d) the order of priorities suggested in the County Council leaflet needs reconsideration. tWith the exception of Queen Street where pedestrianisation is already agreed as a goal under the OTS, priority should be given to those streets which are not used by buses, particularly Broad Street which is one of the city's most magnificent spaces, New Inn Hall Street, and St Michael's Street. The proposal to pedestrianise George Street presents particular difficulties. (See paras. 4-7 below). It seems illogical to take the buses out of George Street (planned for 2010) before the promised measures to improve the traffic flow and improve conditions in Frideswide Square, planned for 2011, have been taken. Some changes may need to be tried out on an experimental basis.
e) The county council’s declared aim of removing street clutter and improving landscaping and paving is extremely welcome. The society hopes that the county and city councils will work together to develop a coherent design strategy for the public realm in the city centre and conduct a joint review to reduce signage and traffic notices to a minimum.
George Street, Beaumont Street and bus access
4. The essence of the OTS was to give buses and taxis a priority route of their own round the city centre in compensation for losing their routes through Cornmarket and, eventually, Queen Street. The proposal to pedestrianise Magdalen Street and George Street will remove part of this priority route, compelling buses travelling round the city centre to join the general traffic in Beaumont Street and the narrow Worcester Street. But there are times when these streets are locked solid with traffic backing up all the way to and from Frideswide Square. Buses and taxis would be severely delayed.
The county council's Questions document suggests (p.3) that "a relatively small number" of buses use George Street. But this is to ignore future needs. The document also says (p.6) it hopes "to deliver more direct connections to the railway station" and (pp.7 & 8) "we will take full account of those people who need to make cross-city journeys, particularly those who are less able to walk." It is unclear how this can be achieved if the buses lose part of their priority route to and from the north. If the extension of Westgate to Oxpens Road goes ahead as planned with a John Lewis store, it seems essential there should be direct access for shoppers to the Oxpens Road end of the shopping centre by bus from all parts of the city and from the Park and Ride car parks, especially as it has rightly been decided that the amount of car parking in the area will not be increased. If the radial bus services all have stops near Westgate, creating an interchange point, it would also have the great advantage of helping people to transfer between bus routes easily.
A recent Civic Society survey of bus connectivity showed that some users, particularly the elderly, found it inconvenient to have to walk the length of Cornmarket to make connections between buses going east and north, a walk that will be lengthened when the bus stops are removed from Queen Street and will be even longer if they are removed from Magdalen St as well. The absence of an adequate bus connection from the north to the station was also regretted.
Pedestrianising George Street may well reduce the chances of persuading the bus companies to restore a service connecting the north and the station, and also to extend the 2 and 7 services to the John Lewis end of Westgate when the store opens. It would delay the 300 Park and Ride service, which still provides a valuable link round the city centre. It would reduce, to the detriment of shoppers from outside Oxford, the chances of having the 500 Park and Ride service extended also to an enlarged Westgate.
The Questions document states (p.5) that the county council's transport proposals "are entirely consistent with the aims of the West End Renaissance". But pedestrianising George Street will make access by bus to the West End more difficult. It would also deprive the taxis, a section of public transport not mentioned in the council documents, of access to a priority route when operating from Gloucester Green and affect also taxis travelling between the railway station and the north.
If, as is suggested, some long distance coaches are diverted from the High Street to use instead the Banbury Road, they too will have to go to and from the coach station through Beaumont Street, increasing the congestion there.
5. If the bus stops outside Debenhams are moved into St Giles as proposed, passengers going north will have to cross the stream of traffic turning in and out of Beaumont Street, which will be made heavier by the addition of buses, taxis and coaches. The county council says (Where will the buses go? p.1) that "we will be improving the crossing there to make the road quick, safe and easy to cross". But it seems unlikely that congestion and delays can be avoided at this junction, especially if the bus services are turning as proposed at the end of St Giles as well. While there would be some gain in amenity through pedestrianising Magdalen Street, stopping the use of St Mary Magdalen Church as a bus roundabout and connecting Cornmarket and Magdalen Street, the introduction of bus stops outside the Taylorian and Ashmolean and on the east side of St Giles near the Martyrs Memorial and pushing more traffic through Beaumont Street seem likely to damage the environment in two of the city's finest streets. Magdalen Street East would in any case be improved if the 2 and 7 services are in due course extended to Westgate and the practice of turning and laying buses over at Magdalen Street is stopped.
A vision is offered of George Street having outdoor cafes and restaurants. But it is stated that the street will still be used for access to the disabled parking spaces in New Inn Hall Street, so it will have to be kept clear for cars. The pavements in George Street are relatively narrow. It would seem more appropriate to meet any demand for outdoor eating in other pedestrianised spaces nearby.
6. It has been suggested that priority for buses, coaches and taxis in Beaumont Street and Worcester Street could be maintained by some form of traffic light control. But even if this could be done without creating unacceptable tailbacks in St Giles, Hythe Bridge Street and Walton Street, which seems doubtful, there would still be strong practical end environmental objections to putting more buses into Beaumont Street and moving the bus stops at present in Magdalen Street northwards. On present evidence the Civic Society cannot support the proposed pedestrianisation of George Street. It should be kept as part of the bus priority route.
Reducing bus numbers in the High Street
7. The Civic Society sympathises with the aim of reducing the number of buses and coaches using the High Street, the city's most famous street. It hopes that changes in legislation will make it possible for the bus companies and the county council to develop agreed timetables for all city routes as part of a general review which would include consideration of more orbital links between suburbs. But a balance must be struck. The eastern suburbs such as Greater Leys have been the city's biggest growth area and over half the city's population lives east of Magdalen Bridge. The bus services from the east using the High Street are a vital connection to the city centre for them and for many others living outside the city's boundaries. Demand for services will grow if planned extension of the city should ever take place.
There is a tendency to overlook how big an environmental gain has already occurred as a result of the OTS. Particularly since the more effective enforcement of the bus gate restriction on general through traffic, it is far easier to see the buildings and to cross the street than in the days when long lines of cars, vans, buses and lorries tailed back from the traffic lights at Carfax and Longwall.
This is not to say that there is no room for improvement and for measures to improve air quality. But easy access to the city centre by public transport must be preserved and connectivity restored. The society therefore opposes any scheme to force bus passengers on all the radial routes which converge at the Plain to disembark and transfer to"high capacity" buses. These buses are intended to take four busloads of passengers at a time, although it is also suggested they would depart at five-minute intervals in which case they might travel part empty. The arrangement seems likely to cause delays that would be detrimental, not least to Park and Ride andto the quality of air in the St Clement’s area. The distance to the centre will be inconveniently long for people to walk .
There is no indication how the extra bus journeys will be paid for. Very large buses do not seem likely to improve the look of the High or fit well into Oxford's medieval street pattern. Trying to find space for the bus stops and turning and laying over areas needed would be damaging to the environment in the St Clements conservation area and might necessitate annexing part of South Park. Other ways to reduce bus and coach numbers should be sought,that do not include this over-drastic proposal.
8. Another proposal is to reroute the long distance coaches going to and from London and Heathrow and Gatwick airports away from the High. But it is obviously essential that people should be able to begin and end their journeys in the city centre, not least at night. Any detailed proposals will need study to see that the alternative routes are acceptable and when they should apply. Issues such as absence of Park and Ride services in the evenings (so that the X90 coach service provides the evening connection to the Thornhill Park and Ride) need reviewing. A change to the coach routes could also increase the demand from people wanting to start their journey by car and join a coach at Thornhill. The capacity of the Thornhill Park and Ride car park would need to be increased first.
Shared space and cycling
9. Pedestrianisation raises the issue of how space will be shared between pedestrians and cyclists. The historic city centre is best appreciated on foot and the more secure pedestrians feel, the better. However, the city also has a long cycling tradition. Cycling provides a valuable means of reaching the city centre and getting around it, not least for students. The society welcomes the assurance that more public cycle parking will be provided. It urges the city and county councils to work together to provide higher quality less ‘crowded’ cycle parking spaces and to try to get more covered cycle parking provided off-street. The society notes that the county council has yet to decide in which streets cycling will be permitted. This needs to be clarified. A further issue is to what extent street space will need to be specifically marked out to separate cyclists and pedestrians.
Tourist coaches and sightseeing buses
10. These are not mentioned in the council document. The Civic Society opposed the marking out of parking spaces in St Giles for tourist coaches and welcomed the abandonment of this scheme. But some coaches still seem to use St Giles informally, adding to the potential congestion. A strategy for handling tourist coaches will be required as part of the county council's plans, and sightseeing buses will need to be rerouted.
Conclusion
11. The Civic Society welcomes the county council's initiative and supports its goal of improving the experience for pedestrians in central Oxford and of promoting cycling and walking. It looks forward to getting more details of the proposals as they are developed.
However, it considers that proposals for pedestrianisation in the city centre cannot be examined in isolation. They must be looked at in relation to the council's other aim of promoting the use of public transport rather than the car in the city as a whole and in the Central Oxfordshire sub-region. They must be assessed also in relation to proposed changes in land use such as the extension of Westgate and the West End redevelopment, and extension of Oxford City should it take place in the longer term.
The Civic Society concludes that on present evidence pedestrianising George Street and moving the bus stops northwards from Magdalen Street into St Giles is impracticable because of its adverse effect on two major city streets and on access by public transport to the city centre,the railway station and the West End.
It also considers that the interests of all those living in the eastern half of the city and beyond must be protected when considering how far it is feasible to reduce the number of buses using the High Street. The proposal to force passengers to transfer to large shuttle buses at the Plain should be dropped as disruptive to bus services and damaging to the environment in east Oxford.
Compiled by :
OCS Travel Behaviour Group,
c/o Environment Secretary,
8 Richmond Road,
OX1 2JJ
