Oxfordshire County Council has a proposal out for consultation until February 14th to reduce all 30mph speed limits on all Bicester’s estate roads to 20mph. Please respond individually to the consultation as once again it will be the quantity of responses that will count in any final decision. The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 14th February 2025.
To get to the consultation survey page please CLICK HERE
LVCA (Langford Village Community Association) has discussed and reached a conclusion to oppose the proposal after assessing the facts shown here :
FACT 1:
After two years’ worth of data collected from our speed awareness camera, Langford Village does not have a speeding problem. There are only 14.5% of vehicles travelling above 30mph compared to a national average of 50%. The 14.5% breaks down to 12% between 30 and 35mph, 2% at 35 to 40mph and 0.5% above 40mph. The above 50mph tends to be late at night or in the early hours of the morning.
FACT 2:
There is not a speeding issue outside school at drop off/ pick up times, again verified by the speed awareness camera. Due to the large number of vehicles parked, it is not possible to drive at any speed along Peregrine Way.
FACT3:
Accident figures from OCC for the last 6 years – 2019 to 2024 show a total of 4 accidents in 6 years, none involving speeding, and no reported accidents on New Langford.
2019: one accident
Ø a car turning into a parking area in the dark, hit a pedestrian, slight injury
2020: no accidents
2021: no accidents
2022: two accidents
Ø a goods vehicle reversed into a pedestrian causing serious injury
Ø A car and bike both turning left car caught bike, slight injury
2023: no accidents
2024: one accident
Ø a car reversed into a pedestrian, slight injury
Anecdotal Feedback:
Residents in Launton, which now has a 20mph speed limit, say it has made the road more dangerous as impatient drivers are now overtaking cars doing 20mph.
The conclusion of the LVCA committee is:
There is no evidence to warrant a reduction in the speed limit for Langford Village, therefore we are opposing the proposal on the facts above and our concerns are that we could create an issue with cars overtaking those doing 20mph making the estate roads more dangerous. The money could be better spent on repairing the road surfaces – in particular Gavray Drive where vehicles are using the wrong side of the road to avoid the horrendous bumps that are back once again.
Langford Village Community Association Committee