Oxfordshire County Council SCOTS Stage 1 Working Document June 2007 Halcrow Group Limited Oxfordshire County Council SCOTS Stage 1 Working Document June 2007 Halcrow Group Limited Halcrow Group Limited Burderop Park Swindon Wiltshire SN4 0QD Tel +44 (0)1793 812479 Fax +44 (0)1793 812089 www.halcrow.com Halcrow Group Limited has prepared this report in accordance with the instructions of their client, client, for their sole and specific use. Any other persons who use any information contained herein do so at their own risk. © Halcrow Group Limited 2007 Halcrow Group Limited Burderop Park Swindon Wiltshire SN4 0QD Tel +44 (0)1793 812479 Fax +44 (0)1793 812089 www.halcrow.com Oxfordshire County Council SCOTS Stage 1 Working Document June 2007 Contents Amendment Record This report has been issued and amended as follows: Issue Revision Description Date Signed 1 0 Working Draft Mar 07 COB 1 1 Final Stage 1 Report Jun 07 COB Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose of report 1 1.2 Rational 1 1.3 Context 2 1.4 This Report has five main sections: 3 2 Public transport strategy 4 2.1 Introduction 4 2.2 Methodology 4 2.3 Options considered 6 2.4 Preferred option for routeing Wantage/Grove to Oxford to 2016 6 2.5 Preferred option for routeing Wantage/Grove to Oxford to 2026 8 2.6 Preferred option for routeing Wantage/Grove to Didcot to 2016 11 2.7 Preferred option for routeing Wantage/Grove to Didcot to 2026 15 3 Highway network 19 3.1 Introduction 19 3.2 Model assumptions 19 3.3 Analysis undertaken 20 3.4 Model results 23 3.5 Screenline A 24 3.6 Screenline B 25 3.7 Screenline C 26 3.8 Screenline D 27 3.9 Screenline E 27 3.10 Screenline F 28 3.11 Junction cordons 29 4 Appraisal of key highway issues 33 4.1 Introduction 33 4.2 Highway issues in Wantage and Grove in 2016 (including development) 33 4.3 Highway issues in Wantage and Grove in 2026 (including development) 33 4.4 West-East issues 34 4.5 Inappropriate re-routeing 34 4.6 SCOTS objectives 35 5 Initial scheme testing 37 5.1 Introduction 37 5.2 Eastern relief road 37 5.3 Western Relief Road 38 5.4 Full relief road 39 5.5 Removal of Northern Link Road 41 5.6 Chilton slips 42 5.7 East Hanney / Steventon Northern Link (rural link verses strategic route) 2026 42 5.8 East Hanney / Steventon Southern Link (rural link verses strategic route) 2026 43 6 Next steps 45 6.1 Introduction 45 6.2 Policy / Strategy context 45 6.3 Route Hierarchy 45 6.4 Public Transport 45 6.5 Further modelling tests 46 7 APPENDIX 1: INITIAL ANALYSIS TO INFORM PUBLIC TRANSPORT STRATEGY 47 7.1 Initial analysis 47 7.2 Wantage/Grove to Oxford 47 7.3 Existing and proposed development at Grove 61 8 APPENDIX 2: ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION 65 8.2 Results 65 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of report 1.1.1 The overall aim of this work is to deliver an improved transport network for the study area from the following key origins of Wantage and Grove (the subject of this first Phase of work, Didcot will be added during a later Phase). The key destinations are Oxford (as a regional hub), employment sites at Milton Park and Harwell IBC and Didcot (including the railway station). 1.1.2 This phase of work has considered the whole journey, from origin to destination. The work has looked at the opportunities and constraints represented by the: • origin; • transport network characteristics encountered on the journey; and • destination. 1.2 Rational 1.2.1 The basic premise of the work undertaken is to investigate the impact of additional trips on the highway network for both car users and public transport passengers, establish any problems and assess and propose means of mitigating against any adverse impacts. The Strategy for the area has five key objectives, which are based on the LTP Shared Priorities of tackling congestion, delivering accessibility, safer roads, better air quality and improving the street environment. The following table sets out in more detail the context for these objectives for the SCOTS area. Table 1.1: Objectives for SCOTS Objective Interpretation for the SCOTS area Tackling congestion Where possible and appropriate, to relieve congestion ‘hot spots’ where they impact on overall accessibility and journey experience and /or where it encourages inappropriate re-routeing. Where there is limited option to effect all modes, particular emphasis will be given to improving journey time reliability for public transport. That is it will be important to address congestion issues where it impacts on the existing and medium/longer term strategy for public transport. Doc No 1 Rev: 1 Date: March 2007 1 U:\planning\Confirmed Projects\CUF Swindon\CTF-ANG-000 Oxfordshire II\200 - SCOTS Further Work\SCOTS STAGE1 Working Document v1.0.doc Delivering To maintain effective and reliable transport links to key services and service accessibility centres through a balanced strategy of public transport and highway improvements. Safer roads Where the analysis of future trip making patterns indicates a potential safety concern, these will be highlighted as issues to be addressed through the strategy. Better air quality Where the analysis of future trip making patterns indicates a potential air quality concern, these will be highlighted and addressed through the strategy development. Improving the street Where the analysis for future trip making patterns indicates that the street environment environment is ‘worsened’ as a result of changes in traffic volumes and routeing this will be highlighted. 1.3 Context 1.3.1 This first Report focuses on the need to move people around the area, and provides an assessment for the morning peak hour. As development in the study area has and continues to increase, the road network has become more heavily used, particularly in the peak hours. This has been a result of the attractiveness of locations in the SCOTS area for living, and the growth in employment opportunities in Oxford and the major employment sites around Didcot. Also, during recent years, healthcare facilities have become increasingly focussed on Oxford, and there has been some centralisation of education facilities. Finally, Oxford has become a focal point of retail and leisure facilities in the County, a trend that will continue with the opening of the expanded Westgate centre. 1.3.2 It is known that there are current highway capacity problems in the SCOTS area. These have been identified through the Didcot ITS and Wantage and Grove Strategic ITS studies. With additional development, congestion will get worse if nothing is done to address the capacity issues. However, when addressing capacity issues, there is little to gain from increasing the capacity on a short section of road. Hence, when adding new highway capacity, consideration will be given to not creating excess capacity that would be used and would lead to additional queues at other locations in the network. Doc No 1 Rev: 1 Date: March 2007 2 U:\planning\Confirmed Projects\CUF Swindon\CTF-ANG-000 Oxfordshire II\200 - SCOTS Further Work\SCOTS STAGE1 Working Document v1.0.doc 1.4 This Report has five main sections: • Public transport strategy; • Highway issues; • Appraisal of highway issues; • Initial Scheme testing; and • Next steps. Doc No 1 Rev: 1 Date: March 2007 3 U:\planning\Confirmed Projects\CUF Swindon\CTF-ANG-000 Oxfordshire II\200 - SCOTS Further Work\SCOTS STAGE1 Working Document v1.0.doc 2 Public transport strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 The chapter of the report consider the options to develop a public transport strategy for the western part of the SCOTS area. In doing so, reference has been made to existing commercial circumstances within which public transport services are operating. 2.1.2 The starting point was to identify public transport route options and broad-brush costs associated with the provision of services linking the Grove and Wantage with Oxford and Didcot, with the principal employment centres at Harwell Chilton Campus and Milton Park, and having regard to the optimum route network designed to serve the existing village of Grove and the proposed development on the former airfield site. (This information is contained in Appendix 1) 2.1.3 Discussions with County Council officers’ at a meeting on 7 February 2007 enabled Halcrow to refine the route options (contained in this chapter) and associated costs associated with the provision of bus services in the SCOTS area. It was agreed that Halcrow should test a shortlist of scenarios for the short- to medium-term period up to 2016 and, separately, test potential options for the long- term period between 2016 and 2026. 2.2 Methodology 2.2.1 The following methodology was adopted to provide an initial indication of the viability of different bus service options for providing bus services along the key corridors in the study area: 2.2.2 Cross-reference was made to mapping and timetables to obtain and corroborate information on the existing bus network in the study area, service frequencies and journey times in the morning peak period (07.00-09.00), inter-peak and late evening (19.00-22.00) on weekdays, on Saturdays and on Sundays; 2.2.3 Weekday patronage data for bus route sectors within the study area was sourced from ticketing records supplied by operators; Doc No 1 Rev: 1 Date: March 2007 4 U:\planning\Confirmed Projects\CUF Swindon\CTF-ANG-000 Oxfordshire II\200 - SCOTS Further Work\SCOTS STAGE1 Working Document v1.0.doc 2.2.4 Liaison took place with County Council’s Bus Services Manager to obtain information on current levels of subsidy paid to operators to secure the operation of services in the study area; 2.2.5 Alternative route options were defined for the Wantage-Oxford, Wantage-Didcot and Wantage-Grove axes, taking account of the existing road network and potential construction or reinstatement of highway links; 2.2.6 Separate matrices were created for each axis, enabling comparison of each route option against the following key criteria: • Route length; • Estimated journey time; • Speed; • Total time en route including layover; • Peak Vehicle Requirement; • Indicative operating cost; • Principal locations en route where delays are likely to occur; • Perceived benefits of route option; • Perceived disbenefits of route option and associated risks.