Oxfordshire County Council has announced that a new document has been approved that will help the council to achieve their transport and connectivity aims.
The document supports wider transport plans for Oxfordshire, and includes aims such as reducing the number car journeys undertaken in the county by more than half in the next 18 years.
Earlier this year, the council adopted the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, with the ambition of “creating a net zero transport system by 2040, improving health and wellbeing, tackling the climate emergency, reducing the use of public transport.” This will be done by allowing developers to assess where schemes are likely to lead to an increase in cars and then ensuring that they have considered providing high quality, sustainable, and active travel arrangements first.
Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy, Councillor Duncan Enright, said:
“This document signals a change in attitude to the issue off travel in the county. It shows where our priorities lie and will help support the aims of the LTCP.
“Replacing the ‘predict and provide’ model means we will stop using past traffic trends to determine the future need for infrastructure, as this maintains the status quo by perpetuating dependence on cars.
“This is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, instance of a local highway authority expressly requiring new developments to do this, putting Oxfordshire County Council at the forefront of advancing transport planning practice.”
The document that has been approved will feed into the plans set out by the Local Transport and
Connectivity Plan, with the plan providing the basis for the council’s commitments to invest in an ‘inclusive, integrated, and sustainable’ network for transport in the county.
