| Route | Enhancement opportunities |
|---|---|
| B376 Horton Road | Measures to make crossing Horton Road — and access to key destinations — easier and safer will be supported. These include traffic-calming measures and improved crossing points with dropped kerbs to Tesco, to the Recreation Ground/Health Centre, and near the junction where Horton Road meets The Green. This would also make access to St Mary’s School easier and safer. Also measures to help reduce pollution for pedestrians such as roadside planting. |
| B470 Ditton Road | Traffic-calming measures to reduce traffic speeds and improve safety for pedestrians will be supported. |
| B376 Slough Road | Improved crossing points for pedestrians, particularly children attending Churchmead School, and traffic-calming measures will be supported. Better maintenance of roadside vegetation would benefit pedestrian safety and the general appearance of the area. Formal parking arrangements could be investigated for houses which have no on-site parking. This would help to protect the verges and reduce difficulties experienced by pedestrians when cars are parked across the pavement. |
| B470 London Road |
Traffic-calming measures and improved crossing points will be supported.
This is particularly important if the proposed housing site AL39 is developed with a public play area and allotments.
The footpath along the north side of London Road from AL39 to the village centre is too narrow to be practically usable.
Residents at AL39 will have to cross London Road to get to most key destinations.
Residents to the south will also need to cross London Road to reach the play area and allotments. Re-routing HGVs and coaches to use the motorway, bypass, or A-routes, in preference to the B-roads through Datchet, would help to alleviate problems at the narrow junction of London Road/ The Green. Also measures to prevent vehicles mounting the pavements, particularly close to this narrow junction. |
| Lawn Close / Link Road | This is the most direct walking route from AL39 to the recreation ground, health centre, Tesco, etc., but the unadopted Lawn Close has no pavements. If development goes ahead, measures such as reduced traffic speeds and signs warning of pedestrians on the road will be important for public safety. |
| B376 The Green | Measures to improve crossing points, prioritise pedestrian movements, calm traffic speeds, reduce congestion, restrict/re-route larger vehicles, and improve air quality will be supported. Also consultation with residents about the position of dropped kerbs. |
| B470 High Street | The following will be supported: traffic calming particularly beside the narrow or non-existent pavements; measures to prevent vehicles mounting the pavements; improved pedestrian crossing points between the Manor Hotel and the shops, and near the junction with Windsor Road/Southlea Road; measures to reduce congestion and improve air quality, such as platform-lengthening at the station, requesting vehicles to turn off engines while waiting at the level crossing, and re-routing larger vehicles via alternative routes more suitable for heavy traffic. |
| Queens Road | Measures to improve air quality, reduce congestion, calm traffic speeds, re-route larger wider vehicles and improve pedestrian safety by preventing vehicles from mounting the narrow pavements to pass oncoming traffic, will be supported. |
| B470 Windsor Road / B3021 Southlea Road | Measures to improve pedestrian safety, particularly crossing points to the public Riverside Garden, will be supported; also measures to improve and widen narrow sections of footpaths, with wildlife-friendly lighting to improve pedestrian safety after dark. |
| Footbridge over the railway line | Measures to install lighting and improve safety and accessibility of this pedestrian footbridge between Montagu Road and the Recreation Ground will be supported. |
| Route | Enhancement opportunities |
|---|---|
| B376 Queens Road-The Green-London Road |
This route through the village centre is the busiest cycle route in Datchet.
Measures to calm traffic, improve air quality, reduce traffic speed and reduce congestion,
to make it easier and safer to cycle will be supported. Source: Propensity to Cycle tool |
| B376 Horton Road | Traffic-calming, speed reduction and crossing points to ease access to the ‘safer route-to-school’ section of cycle path will be supported. Also consultation with residents about improvements to, and use of, the shared path and pavements. |
| B376 Slough Road | Measures to improve connectivity between the existing short sections of cycle path and create a continuous cycle path along Slough Road, in consultation with residents, will be supported. Cycle path signage should also be improved. These actions will also help to provide a safer route to school both for children attending Churchmead and those attending schools in Slough. Traffic-calming measures will be supported as currently some cyclists use the footpath because Slough Road feels unsafe. |
| B470 High Street | Narrow vehicle lanes and a high volume of traffic particularly at peak hours create difficulties for cyclists. It is also difficult to join the High Street (heading north) from The Avenue. Traffic-calming and traffic-reduction measures will be supported. In the DNP Getting Around survey, it was suggested that a one-way system (High Street / Queens Road) be investigated to create more space for cyclists and pedestrians. |
| B470 London Road/Majors Farm Road |
Traffic-calming measures will be supported, also proposals to create new cycle routes
and improve connectivity with NCN61. There should be consultation with residents about
proposed segregated shared paths and the use of unadopted service roads along London Road
for cycle routes (as outlined in RBWM’s Cycle Action Plan). Also measures to reduce congestion at the junction of London Road and The Green, and re-route larger vehicles, to improve safety for cyclists. |
| B3026 Eton Road | Measures to calm traffic and reduce congestion will be supported. Also proposals to reduce on-street parking particularly around Eton End School. |
| B470 Windsor Road/B3021 Southlea Road | Proposals to include cycling provision on these routes, in consultation with residents, will be supported. Windsor Road is also a route to schools in Windsor with a 40 mph limit along most of its length. In surveys, residents have said they would be more likely to cycle to Windsor if there were a formal cycle path. There were also requests for a cycle path along Southlea Road to connect with the shared-use path on the A308 to Windsor and the Great Park. |
RBWM’s Landscape Character Assessment states: ‘There is a notable absence of public access, in the form of Public Rights of Way, in this landscape [Datchet]. Loss of footpaths is partly due to the development of the M4 and Queen Mother Reservoir. New sections of the Thames Path are a recent improvement to the Public Rights of Way network, but paths are scrubby in quality.’RBWM’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan requires developers to provide cycling infrastructure as an integral part of their developments and to link their development to key local destinations.
| Location | Opportunities |
|---|---|
| Riding Court Road/Cemex site | The creation of a safe, more direct route for pedestrians and cyclists from Riding Court Road via the restored Cemex site to Ditton Park, NCN61, Slough (including local schools), and the A4, will be supported. The entrance to this path should ideally be close to Riding Court Road M4 road bridge for ease of access to/from the village centre. The footpath on this new bridge is potentially wide enough to accommodate a shared-use path. |
| New housing development adjacent to M4 | While the creation of new foot/cycle paths outlined in RBWM’s Cycle Action Plan is supported in principle, consultation should be undertaken and consideration given to determining which proposals offer the greatest benefit. It identified the potential for a new cycle path parallel to the M4 motorway as part of proposed new developments, bypassing the centre of Datchet. In the DNP Getting Around survey, there was support for this route linking London Road with Slough Road; however it was put forward when there were two proposed housing sites (HA41/HA42). Now there is just one site, AL39 (formerly HA42), the shorter path, no longer linking with Slough Road, would have reduced usability, especially if a cycle route along London Road is created, as proposed in the Cycling Action Plan. |
| River Thames Scheme–Magna Carta Way | Currently Channel 1, the Datchet section of the River Thames Relief Scheme, is not being progressed due to lack of funding. However, funding may become available in future. The scheme had included a Magna Carta Way cycling route. While the DNP supports new cycle paths in principle, there are safety issues with this proposal which would need to be addressed – particularly the west-east route which takes cyclists and pedestrians through the busy centre of Datchet, crossing terrain beside the railway line and exiting in a 40 mph zone on Horton Road. Opportunities to provide safe footpaths and cycle paths alongside the channel for public recreation would be supported. |
It should be noted that not all of the length of the above routes is within the Datchet Neighbourhood Area.
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