Oxfordshire County Council has published the results of its informal consultation on plans to improve walking, wheeling and cycling through Abingdon town centre.

The overall picture is one of broad support. However, residents of East St Helen Street – who made up around 6% of respondents strongly opposed some measures.

The full results can be viewed at https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/43234/widgets/147176/documents/103518

The consultation, held between 30 September and 28 October 2025, focused on a £1.47 million scheme funded through the Government’s Active Travel Fund. It would upgrade the National Cycle Network Route 5 (NCN5) as it passes through the town centre.

Proposals included:
* New pedestrian and cycle crossings at the Bridge Street / High Street junction
* A contraflow cycle lane on East St Helen Street
* Planting on East St Helen Street
* New informal crossings on both East and West St Helen Streets
* Early-stage ideas for a future contraflow on West St Helen Street (not yet funded)

Around 345 people completed the survey and more than 220 attending drop-in events at Abingdon Guildhall.

Support for individual elements varied.
Improved crossings at the Bridge Street / High Street junction were supported (strongly or partly) by 81% overall, and 50% of East St Helen Street residents.
The East St Helen Street contraflow was supported by 70% overall, but only 15% of East St Helen Street residents.
New planting in East St Helen Street was backed by 67% overall, but just 5% of residents on East St Helen Street residents.

Respondents with disabilities generally supported the proposals.

55% of respondents said the changes would make them more likely to walk, wheel or cycle in the area – an aim of the scheme.

Despite this overall support, several concerns were repeatedly raised.

Road width and safety
Many questioned whether East St Helen Street is too narrow to accommodate contraflow cycling alongside parked cars, pedestrians and delivery vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles serving local businesses were mentioned.

Parking pressure
Residents, particularly on East St Helen Street, were concerned about the loss of already limited parking spaces.

Heritage and character
There was worry about the visual impact of road markings, signage and materials on one of Abingdon’s most historic streets.

Crossing locations
Some respondents felt the proposed crossing points may not align with how people actually move through the area.

The consultation suggests that many people see benefits in safer crossings and a more connected cycling route through the town. At the same time, there are challenges in introducing these changes on a narrow, historic street.

Council officers are now reviewing the feedback to decide whether changes are needed before the scheme progresses.

As a reminder of current conditions, there was an incident on East St Helen Street today involving a car manoeuvring to park and another passing vehicle that hit the car and shunted it into other parked cars.

Work continues on the major redesign of the A34 junction at Abingdon, a project aimed at adding new roundabouts to support new south facing slip roads. Up to now there have only been north facing slip roads.

The temporary junction from Abingdon onto the A34 towards Oxford — which until recently gave priority to right-turning traffic over vehicles going straight ahead — is now starting to look more normal. With two thirds of one of the new roundabouts complete, traffic from Abingdon is now being guided around it before joining the A34 slip road.

The second of the two new roundabouts is roughly halfway finished, although it is not yet in use.

Looking towards where the new slip road from the south will run, warning signs are in place advising against trespass. One sign identifies the area as the ‘Moortown Working Area.’

At the site of the future southbound on-slip, the churned-up eath is beginning to take shape, with the base layer of a new roadway now visible.

Once complete, the scheme should improve traffic in Abingdon town centre and round the inner ring road by improving access onto the A34.

An abandoned van could be seen last week beside the fencing at the Lodge Hill A34 junction redevelopment where new south-facing slip roads and two roundabouts are being constructed.

By today, the vehicle has gone. It was near one of the new roundabouts currently under construction.

At that roundabout, kerbstones now mark the curve of the new carriageway, while newly planted trees hedge this part of the development.

Meanwhile, extensive earthworks are underway for the new southbound slip roads onto the A34. This view is from the bridge over the A34. One of the contractors said a drone had been flying to record progress.

A new shared-use path is taking shape along the north side of Twelve Acre Drive as part of the wider North Abingdon development. When complete, it should provide a useful route for people walking or cycling towards Radley Station.

The pathway is being built as a condition of the development’s planning permission. At present, it begins at the eastern end of the Radley Reach site, crosses the entrance to Peachcroft Farm, and links up with the existing path around the lower edge of the field beside Radley Road.

A new signal-controlled crossing has also been approved for Twelve Acre Drive.

A further link path is also under construction, connecting the crossing with Carse Close on the Peachcroft Estate. This path is another requirement for the North Abingdon development.

The crossing will allow access to the new sports pavilion and football pitches being developed at Radley Reach. There are already signs that work on the pavilion itself has begun.

It will also improve access from the development towards the Peachcroft shops or to Oxford Road and central Abingdon.

There is currently another informal crossing point over Twelve Acre Drive near the Oxford Road roundabout, close to where the footpath to Radley College once started. At present, this can feel quite unsafe, with fast-moving traffic in both directions.

In time, these various elements should come together as part of the wider proposals set out in the Abingdon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.

If you know more about what is planned here, do let me know.