IMPROVEMENTS to the busy junction where Ducklington Lane, Station Lane and Thorney Leys meet in Witney are finally set to get the go-ahead after residents had their say on the proposed design.

The county council’s cabinet is being recommended to approve an updated version of the scheme next week.

The £2m project has been a long time coming but it is good to see that concerns raised by residents during the consultation over the summer have been acted upon.

A hedgerow running between Duckling-ton Lane and Colwell Drive, which provides a valuable barrier to reduce traffic noise, would have been removed to make way for an extra northbound lane in the initial design.

But the county council has listened to local opinion and the green barrier will stay in place, while other suggestions have also been incorporated in the revised plans.

Many times when there is a consultation, one of the cries that can often be heard from the sidelines is “they didn’t listen to us”. Hopefully, the amendments will please those living close to the junction.

The three-lane approaches, with dedicated right-turn lanes should make a big difference to traffic flows.

But as county councillor Laura Price says, there is still some way to go to solve the town’s traffic problems. It cannot afford a repeat of the sorry saga of the Cogges Link Road.