Abingdon householders and visitors to the town are set to benefit from improvements that will encourage cycling and walking in and around the town.

Oxfordshire County Council has adopted the Abingdon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which will set out how to improve the town’s active travel network, reduce the reliance on single use motor vehicles, and cut congestion.

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Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “This plan really sums up this council’s ambitions. “LCWIPs are practical ways of helping people to reduce their reliance on cars for short journeys, and help the council meet our objectives of tackling climate action, improving air quality, and creating a healthier Oxfordshire.

“Many different community groups were involved in helping us put this plan together, and we are sure this approach will help it be a success.

“Nowhere in Abingdon is more than one and a half miles from the town centre – that’s roughly a 30-minute walk or a 10-minute cycle ride – so we look forward to more people using active travel over the next few years.”

The proposals include more than 100 suggestions for the following types of improvements.

New and improved crossings for walking and cycling, junction redesign to prioritise walking and cycling, removal or modification of barriers on walking and cycling routes to improve accessibility and provision of additional high-quality cycle parking.

Other improvements suggested were on-carriageway cycling improvements such as wider cycle lanes, provision of segregated cycle tracks, some of which will require reallocation of highway space from motor vehicles to active travel, permissions for cycling on some routes where it is not currently allowed and new crossing for walking and cycling over the River Thames and River Ock.

Further suggested improvements included footpath widening and provision of new and improved walking and cycling routes between Abingdon and other key destinations outside the town. These infrastructure improvements are intended for development over a 10-year period and aim to increase active and sustainable travel and reduce the use of private motor vehicle journeys.

The Abingdon plan is the fourth LCWIP to be approved in Oxfordshire, following on from Oxford, Bicester, and Kidlington.

Consultations have taken place for others in Witney and Banbury.

Implementing the plan is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government once the design stage of the project begins.

Bicester’s LCWIP was approved in September 2020, which identified a network plan for walking and cycling alongside a prioritised programme of infrastructure improvements for future investment.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1