A “TIDAL” bus lane on the A40 approaching Oxford from the west is the centrepiece of new proposals to combat rush-hour congestion.

Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth said the £35m scheme could link the city with a new park and ride site at Eynsham, allowing buses to bypass normal traffic at peak times.

The idea has emerged as a frontrunner because it is seen as effective and deliverable within the authority’s budget constraints, Mr Hudspeth said.

Other options considered included building a new railway line, trams, guided busways and making the road a dual carriageway.

Mr Hudspeth said: “It will allow buses to be more frequent, more reliable and quicker than a journey by car at peak hours, and encourage more people to use public transport.

“What we are putting forward does not necessarily preclude other options like dualling the carriageway, if in the future funding becomes available.”

“Tidal flow” lanes are stretches of road which can have their direction of traffic changed, depending in which way demand is highest.

They are designed to increase capacity along busy roads in whichever direction they are needed.

In Birmingham a similar scheme is used to provide extra carriageways for general traffic during rush-hour on the Aston Expressway.

Mr Hudspeth said it was too early to say if the A40 bus lane would be a separate carriageway with entry controlled by traffic lights.

Overhead gantries and road markings could also be used to show what vehicles would be allowed where.

During the morning rushhour it would allow buses to bypass eastbound traffic between Eynsham and Oxford, switching to the opposite direction in the evenings.

At sections of the A40 where the carriageway was too narrow for three lanes, bus gates could be put in place to give the vehicles priority.

As well as existing services that use the route, the lane would be used by buses travelling between the city and a new park and ride site at Eynsham, Mr Hudspeth said.

Plans for the park and ride were first proposed in November 2013, but its location has not been decided.

Bus Users Oxford chairman Hugh Jaeger welcomed the proposals: “The road along that stretch of the A40 is wide enough to fit in three lanes and I think a tidal bus lane there could work. But bus gates would only work properly if there was enforcement to prevent continuous queuing blocking them.”

He added campaigners from the Witney Oxford Transport Group, which he is also part of, are lobbying for a train station to be built at Yarnton.

He added: “That would also help catch people going to London before they get to Oxford.”

An outline of the bus lane scheme is expected to go to the county council’s cabinet in June. Draft documents said it was hoped it could be in place within the next five years, mainly paid for using £35m awarded to the authority last year.

 

Transport experts back tram network 

EXPERTS have claimed a tram system for Oxford could be paid for using cash from developments on the edge of the city.

The Trams for Oxford report was produced by a team headed by the award-winning planning consultant Dr Nicholas Falk and transport specialists from both of Oxford’s universities.

They proposed running trams from the Seacourt Park and Ride in Botley Road, down the High Street to Headington and on to Barton.

It was estimated the cost of that first phase would be £300m, with potential to extend the service to Kidlington, and new developments such as the Northern Gateway and the Oxford Parkway station at Water Eaton.

The report appeared as Oxford City Council this week said it believed “a tram network would attract a wider range of users than a bus-based solution”.

In its response to Oxfordshire County Council’s draft Oxford Transport Strategy, the city council warned it would be a mistake to rule out a trams scheme.

Commenting on the Falk report, city council leader Bob Price said: “We will have to increase the provision of public transport.

Trams, light train routes and bus rapid transit will all have to play a part.

The Falk report does not deal with the key issues of allocating restricted road space and construction costs. But the city council believes that there is a strong case for further and more detailed analysis of the options.”

Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth said: “We believe trams may have a role in Oxford, but it would depend on funding becoming available.

“We have to be realistic. By working with the bus companies, we could deliver something quicker.

“There would be the challenge of running trams down the High Street. And could they run down Cornmarket and Queen Street?”

Tram systems have been successfully brought into use in other European towns and cities in recent years, including Edinburgh, Oxford’s twin city Grenoble and Croydon.