Safety at Enstone crossroads

Sat 4 Jul, 05:54

The Council could set up a temporary parking prohibition opposite the bus stop to assess what, if any,  impact on town car parking there actually is.

Fri 3 Jul, 12:02

Our MP is in Charlbury today. Why don't you pop in and see if he can help?

Fri 26 Jun, 16:22

I made the point about the congestion caused by vehicles parking opposite the Enstone Rd bus stop when giving feedback on the residential parking scheme, and just don't understand why this issue hasn't been taken more seriously. 

It causes safety problems for car drivers, buses, pedestrians as well as for those in houses with access onto the Enstone Rd and other adjacent roads. Even if the council feels that they can't lose all the parking spaces on Enstone Rd, it would be surely very easy to prevent parking opposite the bus stop. 

The bus stop absolutely needs to be there. The car parking spaces opposite the bus stop do not! Sometimes the same car can be parked opposite the bus stop for days on end. Recently there was even a (private) double decker bus parked there. Even restricting the parking opposite the bus stop to 30 minutes maximum would help, but really that space needs some double yellow lines.

Fri 26 Jun, 16:14

I am disappointed but not surprised by the lack of interest from the Town Council. Surely the safety of the Enstone Road junction needs reviewing in the light of the relatively recent parking restrictions.

My other slightly cynical point is that it would be interesting to know how many of the members of the Town Council have to negotiate that junction regularly as a pedestrian. My hunch would be that most of them do not as I suspect many of them live in central Charlbury.

Fri 26 Jun, 15:43

Thank you Robin. One of the things that crossed my mind when looking round the assembled councillors that I did not recognise any anyone who lived any where near the crossroads I wondered what their real understanding was of day-to-day life at the X roads for pedestrians and properties that front on to it, the parked cars,. the effect of the bus stop, the enforced single line traffic. I therefore can only assume their opinions are based on theory  and pictures in their mind not on the real situation. My final remark at the meeting it was the quip 'it is a place for the quick and the dead'

Fri 26 Jun, 13:38

I came down my drive at Suntrap this morning, and the S3 bus had just pulled up to the bus stop. Because of a car parked near the junction, once the bus had stopped, nothing could get past it or round it in either direction, and even in the time it took one passenger to board and pay, traffic had backed up across the crossroads, and round the corners from The Slade and Nine Acres Lane, causing gridlock. I couldn’t pull out of my drive until the bus had moved and the traffic had cleared, but at least once the traffic was flowing down Enstone road I knew I had a brief chance to pull out safely before traffic started whizzing up from my left on the wrong side of the road. 

I haven’t complained specifically about getting in and out of my drive, as I’m just one individual and what do I matter, but I take my life into my hands every time I exit my drive.

The other point that occurs to me is, the width of the road when there are parked cars opposite Wychwood House and Suntrap is not wide enough to accommodate buses and lorries and they can only get through by encroaching on the two drives and on the verge between them, which I believe belongs to Wychwood house. Maybe we should fence off our land, and let the traffic try and deal with the result.

Fri 26 Jun, 09:12

Thanks Stephen. From my perspective it seemed like the Town Council don’t fully grasp how dangerous it is for people crossing there. And unfortunately it seemed neither the Town Council or OCC want to take a problem-solving, people-centred approach to the issue. There was a mention of the Town Council putting forward a formal motion on it, however, so I hope this does now happen and that the Council step up and realise how serious an issue it is. 

Fri 26 Jun, 08:13

Grace and I attended the Town Council meeting which looked like a full attendance to me; Liz Leffman our District and County Councillor was also present. I thank all those who have spoken to me as I move around Town and been encouraged with their  concerned views on Safety at Enstone X Roads. However I came away from the meeting disappointed that nothing is going to be done about the parking, it seems that no more can be done about the contravening of traffic laws regarding parking within 10 metres of a junction or the constant exceeding of the20 mph speed limit; also to be to told that several options of introducing a crossing had been looked at and were impracticable or too expensive. I've run out of ideas as it seems have our elected representatives.

I leave Grace to make her own comments

Wed 24 Jun, 07:42

Good Morning Grace. Thanks for letting me  know that the Council meeting is on tonight. I will be coming down. It might be useful if we could meet sometime today. let me know when would be convenient

Tue 23 Jun, 21:15

Yes I agree Katie, this would definitely go some way to helping. The speed of cars is also definitely an issue, even with increased visibility. 

Stephen, the meeting is tomorrow at the Memorial Hall 7:30pm. It’s advertised on the Town Council website and is open to the public. 

Mon 22 Jun, 09:13

One of the main problems is that people park much too close to junctions all over the town. The Highway Code says you must not park within 10m of a junction and yet I regularly see cars parked far too close to Enstone crossroads including opposite the entrance to Wychwood Paddocks. It should be double yellows from the crossroads to down past that entrance. It's the same at the Ticknell Road t-junction by the school where cars park literally opposite the entrance to Ticknell outside Kingham House and also the same at the bottom of Nineacres Lane. The yellow lines at the bottom of Nineacres Lane made a noticeable difference to safety at that junction. I think double yellow lines at Enstone crossroads would have the same effect (even though they wouldn't be needed if people remembered the HC!)? Fewer cars parked close to the junction would improve visibility for drivers and pedestrians alike and stop the worsening single line traffic problem that Stephen describes in his earlier post. 

Sat 20 Jun, 11:48

Thank you Nicolette for your encouragement- but I am minded of the song my mother used to sing to me "never smile at a crocodile, don't be taken in by his toothy grin" so I will be wary when confronting the Council (crocodile)!!

Sat 20 Jun, 10:20

Stephen . In my day as a councillor if you wanted to get their attention you contacted the Town Clerk , I suggest by phone, and booked a slot to address the council for I think it is 5 minutes,and turn up with I suggest some supporters and if you smile sweetly the local press. Good luck!

Sat 20 Jun, 08:20

Grace does one have to be invited to a Council meeting? I note there is no meeting scheduled for next Wednesday. I rely on popping int the 'surgeries' on the last Sat of the month and the occasional letter to maintain my point that "I have 30 plus years of living and working in the grounds Wychwood House right on the Cross roads 24 hrs a day" My current point I keep repeating is that pedestrian safety has worsened since the new parking restrictions came into force. We were invited by the Council to participate in the 12 mth review and now they don't want to listen. But I will keep at it.

Fri 19 Jun, 21:10

I've had a couple of near misses i.e. almost being hit by a car in the last few weeks. However. I would attribute those to the speed of the vehicles. On other occasions many drivers have given way, as they should, to pedestrians. A casual observation is that commercial related vehicles drive too fast 30mph+ and also, there are just too many vehicles. If the cross roads were made into a raised pavement, it would probably solve it without the need for lights, or additional road markings. Let's wait until someone is injured!

Fri 19 Jun, 15:15

 I’m planning to go the Town Council meeting this Wednesday to raise my concerns in person. If anyone would like to join me then please do. 

Fri 19 Jun, 08:54

Indeed Maggie but I'm wondering if members of our elected Town Council are reading these comments; if they understand the reality of the situation that has been created by the 'new' parking rules. If the answer to those two questions is yes then I implore them to show their interest

Thu 18 Jun, 18:46

Wow. Just wow. How can car parking be more important than the safety of vulnerable road users.

The parking situation around this junction is one of the major issues!

Thu 18 Jun, 18:35

If we have traffic lights, parking will need to be restricted from Wychwood Paddocks up to the junction, because at the moment traffic travelling out of Charlbury is having to use the wrong side of the road to get past the parked cars. Whenever there have been temporary traffic lights at the crossroads (for roadworks etc) gridlock has ensued, as cars travelling towards the Town centre find their way blocked by the queue at the red light leaving Charlbury. If you read Steve Cavell’s post below, he has indicated that the Town Council are unwilling to restrict parking up to the junction because it would lose too many parking spaces. So we seem to be between a rock and a hard place.

Thu 18 Jun, 17:27

The traffic engineers objection to traffic lights seems very odd to me.  Traffic coming along the Slade from Fiveways should be able to stop at the giveway line, so why cannot they stop at a traffic light at the same place?

Thu 18 Jun, 17:06

Richard, I may be missing the obvious but if a crossing of some description is installed on the Enstone Road junction, why is it not possible to put up warning signs on the approach(es) to the junction? I’m thinking of‘Junction Ahead reduce speed’ as an example.

I know many with limited mobility who are terrified of using this junction. It really is time that this looked into seriously.

Thu 18 Jun, 16:41

An example today of the problems that arise!

Thu 18 Jun, 09:51

This has always been a tricky one to resolve because of sightlines on the road approaches – in my time on the Town Council we looked at getting a signal-controlled pedestrian crossing over the Slade, but the traffic engineers were concerned that traffic coming round the corner (from the Five Ways direction) wouldn’t see it until it was too late.

Personally I think the best solution would be a pedestrian scramble – a signal-controlled junction with a phase where all traffic is stopped to let pedestrians across. But whether the engineers have the appetite for that, I’m less sure!

Wed 17 Jun, 19:16

A brace of pedestrian crossings would be good. Traffic lights would be even better. The junction is always challenging and often dangerous for pedestrians.

Tue 16 Jun, 21:43

I have always thought that the priority should always have been Slade to Nineacres, This route is the busier & restricted vision as stands is difficult.  

Tue 16 Jun, 21:33

Thanks, Stephen. I think this is a very good description of the problem. 

Tue 16 Jun, 14:44

Let’s hope there will be a well qualified person with solid common sense in the middle of it all. Good luck to that person - hope he/she finds a good parking spot when coming over to sort out the problem🤞

Tue 16 Jun, 08:02

I have lived in Wychwood House, a property with boundaries on the Slade and the Enstone Road for more than 30 years.. There are 13 two bed flats on the property each with its own vehicle(s) plus the delivery/commercial activity associated with 13 properties. I have attended several accidents over the years and have seen many near misses. The safety situation has dramatically worsened since the new parking restrictions  in the centre have sent parking to the fringes of the Town. At the Enstone X roads this has made visibility of vehicles approaching the X roads more difficult; it has created single line traffic for the first 100 yds or so with cars ignoring the 20mph sign racing to reach a gap to get past oncoming traffic, add to that the bus stop in the middle of the 100 yd stretch and pedestrians trying to access the pavement and in my opinion you have a recipe for an accident. 

I was dismayed that my most recent letter to the Town Council requesting a review came back with the reply "that the Council considered my suggestion would cause the loss of too many parking places" I therefor welcome the response of Liz Reason that the Council is doing something after all. I hope that a person qualified in traffic control is at the centre of the decision making.

Tue 16 Jun, 07:37

Thanks, Liz. I’ll contact the Town Council. 

Mon 15 Jun, 22:46 (last edited on Mon 15 Jun, 22:47)

The town council has included measures to improve the safety of Enstone crossroads in its draft Local Cycling and Walking improvement plan. We are waiting for OCC to finalise a draft for consultation. The Town Council has already set aside a funding contribution to install a zebra crossing there.

Mon 15 Jun, 18:51

Hi all, does anyone know who to contact about the increasing danger at the Enstone crossroads? There’s been a marked uptick in traffic recently which is making crossing for pedestrians very challenging and often very dangerous. I’d be keen to understand what can be done and talking to someone in the know. Thanks, all!