Bicester - proposed 20mph speed limit

Oxfordshire County Council wants to make our built environments safer and more attractive places to walk and cycle. To enable this, 20mph speed restrictions are being used to help promote alternative modes of transport for local travel.

Following on from the informal consultation carried out in February 2023 (see here for details), we're now asking for your views on the proposal to extend the existing 20mph speed limit within the centre of Bicester further outwards, replacing the majority of the remaining 30mph speed limits in the process.

The proposals will cover the whole length of every road within the parish boundary of Bicester - excluding the following:

• any road subject to the ‘National Speed Limit’ (60mph),
• any road not currently adopted by the Highway Authority (excepting the roads within the 'Kingsmere' development i.e. those roads bounded by the Oxford Road, Vendee Drive and Middleton Stoney Road, which are being offered for adoption by the landowners, and
• any lengths of road specified in the specific 30mph/40mph/50mph schedules of the draft order.

Existing 30mph speed limits will remain as follows:

1. Full lengths of: B4100 Banbury Road, B4100 Field Street, Queens Avenue, Kings End, Oxford Road, Buckingham Road, and Middleton Stoney Road, and
2. Part lengths of: Bucknell Road, Launton Road, London Road, Churchill Road, Shakespeare Drive, and Gavray Drive.

The proposals are being put forward following road safety concerns raised by the Town Council. Further details on how the council is considering making 20mph the new 30mph for Oxfordshire communities can be found here.

Have your say.

Please read the detailed information provided on this consultation and take the time to complete the survey as your views and opinions matter. Your response should be completed and returned by 5pm on Friday 14 February 2025.

Whilst we will endeavor to answer simple queries during the course of the consultation, any more complex questions/issues will be appraised and dealt with as part of consultation process.

What happens next?

The county council will review the responses and if necessary (i.e. if objections are received) prepare a report to be presented to the Cabinet Member for Highway Management at a meeting scheduled for early in 2025. This will be public meeting at which members of the public may apply to speak. The agenda and reports for meetings will be made available on the Oxfordshire County Council web site about a week before the meeting (please note that occasionally it is necessary to defer reports to a later meeting, and it is therefore advisable to check the agenda ahead of attending a meeting). The Forward Plan of decisions meetings can be viewed here.