A new initiative to create reduced-speed routes for non-motorised users will commence in Oxfordshire next week.
Shepherd’s Pit Lane, located in Stanton St John near Oxford, will serve as the inaugural route in the county’s Quiet Lanes pilot scheme when the trial launches on September 28.
The experimental arrangement is scheduled to continue until September 2027.
Speed restrictions on the lane will be significantly reduced from the current 60 miles per hour limit down to 20 miles per hour.
The change aims to shift priority toward walkers, cyclists, and equestrians rather than vehicular traffic.
Alongside the reduced speed limit, structural alterations including bollards will be installed to prevent drivers from using the route as a faster alternative to other available roads.
The Oxfordshire County Council initiative goes beyond current central government recommendations for quiet lanes by implementing physical barriers where detour options exist.
Critics have characterised the approach as rural low-traffic neighbourhoods.
The programme has attracted divided opinions among residents and road users.
Thames Valley Police previously expressed reservations about the broader 20 miles per hour speed limit expansion across the county.
Force representatives highlighted difficulties with enforcement, constraints on police capacity, potential for disproportionate penalisation of drivers, and concerns that unachievable limits might be disregarded, thereby undermining road safety objectives.
County transport leader Gareth Epps stated that evidence demonstrated substantial backing for the Shepherd’s Pit Lane restrictions.
A total of nine additional roads throughout Oxfordshire have been put forward for consideration under the pilot scheme.
However, several locations have been withdrawn from the programme following local objections.
The excluded routes include Bagley Wood Road in Kennington, Battle Road in Goring-on-Thames, along with Station Road and Lower Road in Blackthorn.