Access to Oxford station from north Oxford – an opportunity
Undoubtedly the proposals
for expansion of services at Oxford station will bring increased traveller
demand, much of it on foot and bicycle. The Bicester/Marylebone proposals
present an opportunity to greatly improve access from North Oxford, creating
a more attractive route than that which currently exists, and available 24
hours each day.
It is hoped that the Chiltern Railways proposals will make this possible.
Local development will create future possibilities for growth in rail patronage.
On Walton Street in Oxford the University is redeveloping the 10 acre site of the former Radcliffe Infirmary. The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter as it will be known, will be developed for access by people on foot and bicycle; it will provide 3,000 cycle parking spaces and about 10,000 people will be located there or visit the site on working days.
This key development, depending for access on walking and cycling, will create substantial demands for access to and from the station – demands that cannot be met by the present facilities.
The land on the canalside by St Barnabas church, known as the boatyard site, has been the subject of contentious plans for development. Local groups – the Jericho Community Association and Jericho Living Heritage Trust, have expressed wishes for a link between Jericho and Rewley Road. This would cater for growth from developments and conserve the fragile environment along the canalside path. It would require a crossing of both the canal and the adjacent Castle Mill Stream.
The present routes between North Oxford and the station
Two routes are available to pedestrians and cyclists – one via Hythe Bridge Street, and one via Oxford Canal and Rewley Road. Hythe Bridge Street is a crowded environment, congested with motor traffic, both unattractive and unsafe. The route via Oxford Canal is an attractive alternative but its value is at present limited due to the need to use the canal towpath – narrow, unmade and unlit; unsuitable as a space for walkers and cyclists to share.
The route between the station and Jericho/ North Oxford via a canal crossing could be made more attractive, more useful, and cater for future growth in demand, but a number of ‘building blocks’ need to be put in place before better conditions and a better route can be created.
The proposal
OxPA hopes that the opportunity can be grasped to contribute now to making the walking and cycling route between North Oxford and the station via Walton Street and Rewley Road as convenient and attractive as possible. A suggestion by the Jericho Living Heritage Trust, of a footbridge spanning both the canal and the Castle Mill Stream, would enable Rewley Road to be used for its full length and relieve the unsuitable canal towpath at its southern end.
To create such a crossing of the river and canal would require that a small parcel of land within Network Rail’s Oxford Sidings be designated for future use as a launch place for the pedestrian/cyclist bridge.
Time to grasp the opportunity
The time to grasp the opportunity, to reserve a small site for future use in creating better pedestrian and cyclist access between North Oxford and the station, is now while trackworks and other works are planned.
OxPA hopes that Chiltern Railways and Network Rail will take the necessary steps to ensure this can happen in the future, for the benefit of Oxford’s rail travellers and railway revenues.
Oxford Pedestrians Association
May 2009