TRAFFIC SURVEYS

 
Traffic travelling along the A4130 makes a considerable impact on the village, due to the noise and pollution it causes and the hazard it presents to vehicles turning in and out at the four junctions. There is concern that more accidents will occur as the road becomes increasingly busy. Traffic on the Shillingford Bridge Road and on Shillingford Hill causes the same problems in that part of the parish, particularly when vehicles exceed the 30 mph speed limit.

Two surveys of A4130 traffic were carried out in the 1990s and a third in 2011 using the standard 8 vehicle-type classification. Vehicles entering and leaving the village at the four junctions were also counted on two separate occasions, latterly in 2005.

The total number of vehicles travelling along the A4130 during the day increased by 13.6% from 1999, to a total of nearly 12,000 – not a surprise to most villagers. By comparison, the design capacity of the M1 when it was first opened by Mr Marples, then Minister of Transport, was 10,000 a day. Private cars increased by 15%, light vans by 14% and motor cycles by 118%, but small lorries decreased by 20% and HGVs by 28%, a most surprising result. HGVs made up only 1.8% of the total.

Traffic will continue to be monitored and counted on the A4130 over the next few years as the large housing estate is built on Site B adjacent to the Wallingford By Pass which will, of course, affect traffic volumes.