Safer Roads Oxford: Banbury Road and Iffley Road

About the scheme 

Safer Roads is a project that aims to improve road safety on some of our busiest roads.

Banbury Road in north Oxford and Iffley Road in east Oxford are key routes or ‘corridors’ in the city, used daily by a wide range of transport users. 

Working in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Safer Roads Foundation, we have identified a selection of safety interventions to reduce accidents along both routes.

Current status

From 27 February to 28 March, we're asking for your views on the proposals to construct new side road entry treatments at various junctions along the Banbury Road and Iffley Road, Oxford. These will provide continuous footways across the junctions, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Improvements to some existing central traffic islands are also proposed which will further aid safe crossing of Banbury Road and Iffley Road.

All drawings and documentation, including how to respond, can be found on our digital engagement platform Let’s Talk Oxfordshire.

About the improvements

We are focusing on designing works to significantly reduce accident risks at a small number of junctions on the two roads where there have been slightly higher collision incidents reported. These accident statistics and locations have been assessed to identify the priority junction points. These are: 

• Banbury Road (A4165) – between St. Giles (A4144) and the A40 roundabout: 
  
  • Bevington Road, Norham Road, St. Margaret’s Road, Rawlinson Road, Linton Road, and Belbroughton Road. 
• Iffley Road (A4158) – between the Donnington Bridge junction (B4495) and the Eastern Bypass roundabout (A4142): 
  
  • Radcliffe Road, Cornwallis Road, Iffley Turn (South), Westbury Crescent, and Courtland Road (North), and Courtland Road (South) in Rose Hill. 

The works are intended to reduce the number of road traffic accidents on both roads and make them safer for vulnerable road users. Vulnerable users are people who are less protected by their vehicles when on the roads – usually people walking, wheeling, cycling, scooting, horse riding, or riding a motorbike. 

How we got here

We have had several meetings with stakeholders to help identify and understand the details of what improvements are needed. Highways designs have been drafted for the improvements following these meetings.

We are also proposing:

• to install solar studs along the cycle routes to more clearly separate the cycleway from the carriageway and
•  improvement works to raised pedestrian crossing points (‘pedestrian refuge islands’). 

Why are we investing here? 

‘Safer Roads’ is a part of our vision zero commitment to work toward a goal of zero serious or fatal road traffic accidents on the county and city roads by 2050. 

Most of the accidents we have been looking into on Banbury Road and on Iffley Road were on or near junctions with side roads, so it is imperative that we make these junctions safer to prevent future accidents

There are three key objectives for this project: 

• Provide better pedestrian and cycling facilities. 
• Reduce the risk and number of collisions and accidents. 
• Reduce the number of fatal/serious injuries/casualties involving pedestrians and cyclists. 

The project supports our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP).

By providing better pedestrian and cycling facilities, the project is considered to address three of our nine strategic priorities directly:

1. Put actions to address the climate emergency at the heart of our work. 
2. Invest in an inclusive, integrated, and sustainable transport network. 
3. Prioritise the health and well-being of residents.

How is it being funded? 

We made a bid for funding to make key safety improvements on Banbury Road and Iffley Road in 2023 and have been awarded £1.675m from the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund to deliver the safety works proposed. 

The funding is provided with the condition that is used only for new safety improvements (so cannot cover pothole repairs) on these specific roads. that will protect people travelling on these roads – especially vulnerable road users.

Next steps

We would like to hear your thoughts on the draft proposals and will be holding a survey from 12 noon on 27 February until 11.59pm on 28 March 2025. The survey, together with plans and reports, can be accessed at: https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxford_a4165a4158_sret2025

Contact us:

If you would like to know about the project, you can contact us by emailing the project team:

saferroadsfund@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Or by writing to: 
Safer Roads Fund Project
Oxfordshire County Council
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND