Cherwell Street (Banbury) bus prioritisation

About the project

We want to make bus travel more attractive by improving bus journey times and bus reliability.

Cherwell Street and the area between the George Street and Bridge Street junctions in Banbury suffer from congestion during peak times, which delays bus journeys.

As a result, we have been awarded government funding to improve bus journey times and reliability into and out of Banbury town centre. 

The focus will be on improving the current George Street bus lane, providing buses with access to Bridge Street West, and improving the crossing facilities and signalling at the Bridge Street junction.

We also want to take this opportunity to improve the safety of people walking, cycling, and wheeling to bus stops, the town centre, and Banbury Rail Station.

What have we done so far?

In 2024 we assessed and shortlisted five options:

1. Improving pedestrian crossing facilities at the George Street and Bridge Street junctions with Cherwell Street plus widened footways on the Concorde Avenue arm
2. Option one plus a signalised crossing of the George Street bus lane and widened footways on Cherwell Street and at the Bridge Street junction
3. Bus priority lane northbound on Cherwell Street
4. Bus lane with no right turn into Bridge Street (east)
5. Signal optimisation which adjusts the timing and co-ordination of traffic lights to improve the flow of vehicles, reduce congestion and enhance safety on the roads.

We then worked with our design consultant Mott Macdonald and Stagecoach Bus to develop a better-balanced, improved option. This combined option five with pedestrian improvements and an extended ‘virtual bus lane’ on Cherwell Street and amended the proposed layout for Bridge Street (east).

The preferred option

This option was assessed to meet the Department for Transport funding objectives and our Local Transport and Connectivity plan objectives, as well as being affordable and practical to deliver. We used concept design stage work, data modelling of traffic movements and feedback from county, district and town councillors and Stagecoach Bus to develop the preferred option.

As part of this option, we are now proposing the following improvements:

• Bus priority measures including implementing a longer running lane along Cherwell Street for left-turning vehicles travelling north-bound into Bridge Street (west) and adjustments to traffic lane allocation at the Cherwell Street/Concorde Avenue/Bridge Street junction, and the Cherwell Street/George Street junction.
• Improving crossing facilities to improve safety for pedestrians.
• Optimising traffic signals to reduce delay for buses and cars.
• Lining and signing improvements to improve traffic flow, safety, and overall road user experience.

Along the Cherwell Street corridor between George Street and Bridge Street this would include:

• Refreshing existing line markings (including 'keep clear' markings at petrol station access/egress).
• Creating an extended left-turn ‘virtual bus lane’ northbound on Cherwell Street into the town centre.

At the George Street/Cherwell Street junction, this would include:

• Widening the existing bus lane at the junction where the buses turn left, which currently has a sub-standard lane width.
• Introducing a pedestrian crossing on George Street and on the northern arm
• Improving the traffic lanes approaching the junction from the south.

These improvements would require general traffic lanes on George Street to be reduced from two lanes to one lane, close to the junction.

At the Bridge Street/Cherwell Street junction, this would include:

• Optimising traffic signals.
• Simplifying the junction for pedestrians on Bridge Street (west).
• Reconstructing the pedestrian islands along Concord Avenue (north).
• Removing the pedestrian island along Bridge Street (east).
• Reconstructing the pedestrian islands along Cherwell Street (south).
• Altering the highway lane allocations on Bridge Street (east) to address the current issue of left-turning vehicles mounting the footway due to sub-standard lane widths. This may lead to reduced highway capacity on Bridge Street (east).

There are currently risks to pedestrian safety at this junction and as the highways authority we have a responsibility to address these as soon as we can. The route from Grimsbury into the town centre is also heavily used by pedestrians and the crossing at the Bridge Street junction is unattractive and takes too long to use.

Consultation and engagement

We ran a public consultation from 4 March to 1 April 2024 to collect feedback to help us to develop the preliminary design. 

• More information about the consultation

We held a second consultation from 24 February to 23 March 2025 to help us decide on the final construction-ready design. Feedback from this consultation is now being considered alongside traffic modelling results and Oxfordshire County Council policies and priorities.

To meet government funding requirements, we need to design, build, and complete these improvements by March 2026.

More information

The Cherwell Street improvements complement work being done to improve access to Banbury Rail Station.

Both projects also focus on investing in public transport and pedestrian infrastructure, in line with our Local Transport Connectivity Plan. 

They are also part of the Banbury 2050 vision and support the objectives of various Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council and government public transport and growth strategies.

Funding comes from the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan and Section 106 developer contributions.

Get in touch

Email: cherwellstbus@oxfordshire.gov.uk