Cyclists with disabilities who depend on bicycles can now travel through Bicester’s experimental pedestrian zone after authorities granted them an exception to the cycling ban.
A modification to the Experimental Traffic Order covering Sheep Street now allows mobility-impaired riders to ignore the requirement preventing bicycles from passing through the market.
The amendment was introduced by Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for transport, and came into force on Thursday, April 9.
A previous amendment, effective from April 11, 2025, had required cyclists to dismount and walk on Fridays between 9am and 4pm while the town centre street market was operating.
The Bicester Bike Users’ Group welcomed this practical modification.
The group said the blanket bicycle ban had not worked for some riders. Many cyclists use their bikes as mobility aids because of disabilities or other medical conditions and could not get to the town centre or market on foot or by pushing their bicycles. This arrangement allows disabled cyclists to access town facilities in the same way as other residents.
Sheep Street operates as a pedestrian zone under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, funded through £15,520 of Section 106 planning obligation money. The experiment started on March 25, 2025, to assess cycling permissions, promote sustainable travel, increase route choices, and gather information to decide whether the setup should become permanent, be altered, or be discontinued.
Monitoring took place between March and October 2025, combining constant counts of pedestrians and cyclists with mobile CCTV recordings on two days each month over six months, including one Friday monthly.
Figures show Sheep Street is predominantly used by pedestrians, with cyclists making up just 6.7 percent of daily users. Friday and Saturday experience the heaviest foot traffic, reaching around 440 pedestrians per hour during Friday market times. Cyclist numbers stay constant between 9am and 4pm on Fridays but rise after 4pm.
The pedestrian zone will remain in place until September 25, 2026. Residents can comment through a questionnaire by 5pm on Friday, October 9.
Views can be submitted online via the Let’s Talk Oxfordshire portal.
The consultation received 48 responses. Of these, 33 respondents, or 69 percent, disagreed with the experiment while 15, or 31 percent, supported it.
A representative for the Bicester Bike Users’ Group said the experiment was working well, giving cyclists a safe route.
The wide, open design of Sheep Street also enables safe sharing of space for all users, they said. Encounters between pedestrians and cyclists have generally been calm and respectful, and the experiment has attracted visitors to the town centre while providing a safe link between the northern and southern parts.