Traffic congestion and road safety

Over the past twenty years traffic on Rose Hill Road, as in most parts of Oxford, has increased. Residents in the neighbourhood, particularly those who live near the brow of the hill as it rises from Henley Avenue, hope that the speed camera situated about mid-way on the hill is fully operating and regulary checked.

Since the loss of the small customer car park from the front of the Co-op, which has been taken over by Humphris and is now an area for displaying their cars, there is periodically traffic congestion around the entrance to Villiers Lane and the section of slip road nearby. This also creates a safety hazard for customers as they negotiate their way to and from the store. Residents in Annersely Road and Villiers Lane have garages whose only access is through Villiers Lane and are now sometimes denied access if the lane is blocked. Large car transporters regularly stop outside Humphris to off-load vehicles. This has increased greatly since the garage has increased its dealership threefold in the past twelve months. There are three bus stops, one immediately opposite the garage and two on either side of the garage, one approx. 100 yards and the other approx. 30 yards from the garage. The bus service is frequent and the transporters are sometimes parked for a half an hour or more unloading vehicles. This causes traffic congestion, particularly when the buses are parked. It is not uncommon for buses to be coming in both directions simultaneously when the transporters are unloading. It is particularly hazardous for cyclists. There are comments relating to this paragraph in Section 2 of the report.

This is a road safety issue which requires co-operation from the garage with the highways section of Oxford County Council and in consultation with Thames Valley Police. Two solutions have been put forward. The garage could use their branch on the Watlington Road Trading Estate to receive the car transporters and then ferry the cars individually to their Rose Hill Road branch. Alternatively, another suggestion is that if the garage takes over the premises of the existing adjoining Co-op shop, this area could be used to accommodate their transporters. Residents hope that every opportunity will be used to improve this situation.