Residents and visitors to Witney are receiving more support to boost social distancing and active travel.
Earlier this week, senior councillors from Oxfordshire County Council and West Oxfordshire District Council visited Witney to understand further how the existing measures for physically distant travel options were working, and to discuss improvements.
Currently, West Oxfordshire District Council’s workers have installed barriers to certain areas in the region, and Oxfordshire County Council have assisted these changes by providing the Traffic Regulation Order that is required to allow parts of the road to be dedicated to pedestrians.
County Councillor Liam Walker (pictured left), Cabinet member for Highways Operation and Delivery, said: “There’s been lots of work done in Witney to provide extra space so that shoppers can socially distance and away from the town centre our teams have been making sure cycle routes are clear and soon they will be repainting some of the lines.
“The county council is committed to helping residents to do more active travelling and in the coming weeks you will see new cycle racks appear in towns across Oxfordshire, including Witney.
“When we visited the town we agreed to alter the signs so that it was even clearer for traffic which areas were dedicated to shoppers and which roads to take. While the measures are temporary we are also going to look at whether it is possible to make them look less like roadworks by possibly using planters rather than barriers.”
Cllr Toby Morris (pictured right), Cabinet Member for Resources at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Whilst the plan had to be put together very quickly, residents and businesses have embraced it and we have had a lot of positive feedback.
“We are continuing to work with our partners including Oxfordshire County Council and Witney Town Council to fine tune certain areas and continue to listen and react to any concerns.”
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