Independent expert studies on traffic congestion in Watlington have come to the same conclusion: on street parking and HGVs are a significant cause of the problem. All vehicles have to brake and accelerate where on-street parking narrows the carriageway to single lanes. This creates the conditions for the worst driver behaviour for emissions, according to the government’s Air Quality Expert Group. Source apportionment by air quality consultants to the County Council, Atkins, shows the largest contribution is from diesel cars (48%), followed by diesel vans (29%), HGVs (13%), petrol cars (6%), and buses (4%).
Enforcement of the 7.5tonne weight limit and some parking removal at school and peak hours would significantly reduce emissions and delays, even when taking into account all the planned growth in the district’s housing plan. This plan is set to remove the 3,000 housing allocation at nearby Chalgove Airfield. Making better use of the existing highway also addresses that traffic will still be in Watlington. A Watlington Relief Road would be an alternative route, not a replacement, so extra, traffic inducing road capacity.
National Highways, which manages the nearby M40 motorway, signposts the Watlington Junction 6 as NOT for HGVs, access only. Unfortunately, without rigorous enforcement this ban is being flouted all too often.
The proposed Watlington Relief Road would make the route off Junction 6 easier and quicker at Watlington for HGVs, with roundabouts for turning. The route will be more attractive for all motorised traffic. Yet the council has no amelioration plan for what happens to communities around Watlington such as Shirburn, Cuxham or Britwell Salome. Neither has it published any traffic modelling of the disbenefits of how a new strategic route might link up with other South Oxfordshire roads to greatly increase all traffic.
Its own study of road freight logistics highlights that HGVs wanting to access the M40 would be drawn by extra road capacity at Watlington to use B roads south of Watlington. There is a legal duty to celebrate and not harm this whole area of the Chilterns National Landscape. Increased use of the county’s rural B roads to access the M40 would increase its road maintenance, climate and road safety costs.
Developers have agreed to implement, at their cost, off-site highway improvements and to allow traffic in place of some on-street parking at school hour and peak time. Together with better enforcement of the 7.5 area weight limit, journeys for many people will improve, without the need to build the road.