Active travel & road safety

Safer streets & routes

A town where children can walk to school safely, everyday journeys can be made by bike, and the A44 feels like a street people live on — not just a road traffic passes through.

Woodstock residents and schoolchildren campaigning for safer roads
Residents and schoolchildren calling for safer roads in Woodstock.

Why the A44 matters

The A44 is Woodstock's main north–south route, but it is also the street people use to reach homes, schools, shops and bus stops. Through Old Woodstock there are narrow pavements, tight bends and places where the carriageway leaves very little room for people walking or cycling.

For many residents there is no practical alternative route into the town centre. That makes road safety part of everyday life, not an abstract transport issue.

Progress: 20mph across most of WoodstockOxfordshire County Council approved 20mph limits across most of the town in 2024. In April 2026 the 30mph section on the northern A44 was extended by around 230 metres. Those changes are important; the next challenge is making crossings and routes safer too.
Road safety campaign image showing conditions on the A44 in Woodstock
The campaign grew out of daily experience of the A44's narrow pavements, traffic and difficult crossing points.

What we want to see next

Old Woodstock connection

An off-road walking and cycling route towards the town centre, schools and services.

Safer crossings

Better places to cross the A44 where homes, schools, bus stops and the town centre sit on opposite sides.

North towards Wootton

A safer connection towards Wootton and the B4437/Judds Garage junction.

South to Bladon & Hanborough

Better active-travel links towards Bladon and Hanborough railway station.

Explore the detailed maps & proposals →

Creating a connected network

Safer travel is not one scheme or one stretch of road. It is a network: lower traffic speeds, well-placed crossings, useful cycle parking and continuous routes that people of different ages and confidence levels can actually use.

Sustainable Woodstock works with Woodstock Town Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Blenheim and neighbouring communities to keep those practical improvements moving forward as development and transport plans change.

Road safety campaign photograph in Woodstock
Road safety has been a long-running community priority.
People taking part in a Woodstock road safety demonstration
Public campaigning helped keep the issue visible.

Beyond the town boundary

People also need safe ways to travel between Woodstock, Bladon, Hanborough, Combe, Stonesfield, Wootton and Blenheim. The Villages Travel Network brings those communities together around a shared ambition for walking, cycling and public transport.

Visit the Villages Travel Network ↗

Help shape the work

Local knowledge is invaluable. If there is a crossing that feels unsafe, a route your children would use if it were protected, or a missing link that makes you reach for the car, tell us. Those everyday experiences help build the case for better infrastructure.

Get involved with safer routes