A public consultation on the proposed cycling improvements for East St Helen Street and the junction by the Abbey Gateway was held today in the former Magistrates’ Court. A second opportunity to meet the designers will take place on Tuesday in the Roysse Room from 4 pm to 7 pm.

A steady stream of visitors came to study the plans and speak with the project representatives. Among those most vocal were residents of East St Helen Street – where a new cycling contraflow is proposed, local conservationists, and cyclists keen to see better routes through the town.
The proposals, initiated by the cycling charity Sustrans and designed by Oxfordshire County Council, were generally welcomed by those supporting more active travel. However, they also prompted a range of concerns. Some East St Helen Street residents questioned the safety of the design for both cyclists and pedestrians, and how it might affect the character of this historic street. Conservation-minded visitors raised worries about changes to the junction’s appearance — including the addition of several new crossing points and belisha beacons — and how these might impact views towards the Abbey Gateway and St Nicolas Church. Others felt the plans did not help pedestrians, saying that many people cross High Street and Stert Street elsewhere and may not use the proposed new island. Drivers, too, voiced concerns about traffic flow.

Discussions were lively showing how challenging it will be to balance all the competing interests.

Details and the online consultation can be found at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/eaststhelenstreet

National Route 5 of the National Cycle Network runs all the way from Reading to Holyhead – and right through Abingdon. But here in town it has never quite lived up to the standard you’d expect of a national route. The paths in and out of Abingdon have been resurfaced in recent years, but there’s still room for improvement between St Helen’s Church and the Abbey Gateway. At the moment, cyclists have to take a long detour and then dismount – so many instead risk heading the wrong way up East St Helen Street.

Oxfordshire County Council has now published plans to improve things. The aim is to make cycling and walking through the town centre safer, with a new contraflow on East St Helen Street to legitimise what some cyclists already do.

The scheme also looks to sort out the junction at the top of East St Helen Street, improving it for people on foot, on bikes, or using mobility scooters. An outline was first put forward by local cycling enthusiasts, then refined by transport specialists – and now it’s open for wider comment through a public consultation. The junction plans include additional zebra crossings and the use of an enlarged island in the middle.

More crossings do mean more time when traffic has to stop, slowing traffic coming up Bridge Street or along Stert Street, where there are already other pedestrian lights.

The funding is already secured: a £1.47 million government grant from the Active Travel Fund will cover design and construction.

The public consultation runs from 30 September to 28 October 2025, with drop-in events at the Guildhall on:
Saturday 11 October, 10am–3pm
Tuesday 14 October, 4pm–7pm

A consultation report is expected in December. Final designs should follow in spring 2026, with construction due to start that spring and finish by summer 2026.

Details and the online consultation can be found at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/eaststhelenstreet

Resurfacing work is taking place on Drayton Road this week, with Oxfordshire County Council closing the road between Saxton Road and Preston Road from 22–29 September, 8 pm to 6 am each night.

On the night of 23 September, crews were planing off and resurfacing the stretch between Morland Gardens and Preston Road. The road planers with a fleet of muckaway lorries worked in sequence to remove the old surface and then fresh tarmac was laid and compacted by rollers.

During the closure, buses and other traffic have been finding alternative routes. I saw the X2 trying to make its way along Saxton Road to get round the closure.

The Drayton Road is the main route into Abingdon from the south and is cracked along this section.

Work has been underway for three weeks on the Lodge Hill A34 interchange near Abingdon.

Two of the existing splitter islands have been removed to give construction vehicles easier access, and traffic cones now mark where the islands once stood. The roundabout construction is scheduled next.

Across the site, machinery, yellow safety barriers and teams in hi-vis overalls are busy preparing the ground.

Much of the recent activity has focused on earthmoving with the excavation of a terraced channel through the red soil near the A4183 Oxford Road.

This major project will add south-facing slip roads onto the A34, with two new roundabouts linking the slip roads to the A4183 Oxford Road. It is designed to improve access between Abingdon and the A34 and reduce congestion on the town’s roads as new housing develops to the north.

You can find more details on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.