Active travel

How we are changing things to make journeys easier by bike and foot.

We have ambitious plans to give residents more options for travel as outlined in our county-wide Local Transport and Connectivity Plan. By supporting and encouraging active travel – walking and cycling – we can help improve people’s health and wellbeing, reduce traffic congestion and help address the climate crisis.

Active Travel Strategy

Our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP), adopted by full council in July 2022, includes our Active Travel Strategy (ATS) (pdf format, 455Kb).

The Active Travel Strategy focuses on active travel modes (walking, wheeling and cycling), which are key to delivering our transport plans for the next 10 years.

The strategy includes 79 actions for active travel which are organised around 13 different areas. The areas include council transformation, collaboration and engagement, data, design guidance, network development and accessibility.   

It also sets a county-wide target to increase the number of cycle trips to 1 million per week by 2031, from our current level of 600,000 cycle trips per week.

Walking and cycling design standards

In 2017 we adopted the following design standards:

We are currently working on an update of these county-specific standards, following the publication of relevant national guidance such as LTN 1/20 and Inclusive Mobility. In the meantime, information on how to use our design standards in the development process can be found on our section on Transport Development Control (TDC).

Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs)

In 2017 the Government published its Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. It sets out the Government’s ambition to make walking and cycling the natural choices for shorter journeys or as part of a longer journey.

LCWIPs are a strategic approach to identifying cycling and walking improvements at the local level. They enable a long-term approach to developing local cycling and walking networks over the next ten years and form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to increase the number of trips made on foot or by cycle.

LCWIPs will:

  • set out an analysis of the current network and opportunities for improvements
  • contain a network plan for walking and cycling which identifies preferred routes and core routes for further development
  • contain a prioritised programme of infrastructure improvements for future investment.

LCWIPs will assist local authorities to:

  • identify cycling and walking infrastructure improvements for future investment in the short, medium and long term
  • ensure that consideration is given to cycling and walking within local planning and transport policies and strategies
  • make a case for future funding for walking and cycling infrastructure.

The National Planning Policy Framework (July 2018) supports the introduction of LCWIPs. The framework states that planning policies should "provide for high-quality walking and cycling networks and supporting facilities such as cycle parking (drawing on local cycling and walking infrastructure plans)."

Approved LCWIPs

We have developed and approved LCWIPs for the following locations:

Oxford – approved by Cabinet on 17 March 2020

Bicester – approved by Cabinet on 15 September 2020

Kidlington – approved by Cabinet on 18 January 2022

Abingdon – approved by Cabinet Member for Highway Management on 23 February 2023

Witney – approved by Cabinet Member for Highway Management on 23 March 2023

Banbury - approved by Cabinet Member for Highway Management on 20 July 2023

Didcot- approved by cabinet member for highway management on 14 December 2023

We are currently working on the development of the following LCWIPs:

  • Thame
  • Wantage and Grove
  • Wallingford area
  • Woodstock
  • Chipping Norton
  • Carteton
  • Charlbury

Future LCWIPs

Work will start to develop these LCWIPs in the near future:

  • Faringdon
  • Henley on Thames

Going forward, LCWIPs will also be considered for other towns within Oxfordshire as funding or opportunities arise.

Strategic Active Travel Network (SATN)

The Strategic Active Travel Network (SATN) is a proposal for a countywide Active Travel network of walking and cycling routes.
Oxfordshire towns already have Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs), creating a network of walking and cycling routes within towns. 

SATN will connect these networks, enabling longer-distance walking and cycling across the county. Some of these routes already exist, others are proposed and will be developed in the future. The development of the SATN is composed of 2 main stages. 

Stage 1- Now concluded

  • Focused on the development of a prioritised straight desire line map highlighting high-demand routes between towns and existing LCWIPs. 
  • These routes were chosen by following a detailed methodology involving data analyses, formal and informal consultations, and a systematic prioritisation exercise, which resulted in a straight desire line network.

Stage 2- currently in progress

  • Focuses on transferring the straight desire line routes into on-the-ground alignments, finding the most effective route
  • The detailed design of routes as well as the implementation and construction.

The SATN project report (pdf format 8MB) was consulted between 21 July 2021 and 14 August 2023.
 

The active travel fund

The Department for Transport's active travel fund supports plans to reallocate road space to cyclists and pedestrians and create an environment that is safer for walking and cycling. Since 2020 we’ve secured over £3 million of funding, including additional funds from OxLEP to deliver:

Oxfordshire Cycling Survey 2019

We did the Oxfordshire Cycle Survey 2019 (pdf format, 824Kb) survey to support the production of Oxfordshire’s LCWIPs.

What we wanted to understand:

  • Cyclists’ main problems when cycling in terms of location and type of problem.
  • Cyclists’ route choice in terms of road types and paths.
  • Factors (gender, age, cyclist experience) that affect cyclists’ route choice.

The data from the survey was used extensively in the Oxford LCWIP and will be used to prepare other future LCWIPs.

What are LTNs, quickways and quietways?