OUR VIEW: Revamp delay disappointing... but necessary (From Bicester Advertiser)
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OUR VIEW: Revamp delay disappointing... but necessary
9:00am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News
THE work to revamp Frideswide Square cannot come soon enough.
Anyone who has driven, cycled or walked through the area will know it needs to change.
For drivers, the current road layout is confusing and awkward at best.
And for pedestrians arriving in the city from the train station, it is not an attractive greeting.
Introducing roundabouts and a boulevard style layout are part of a facelift the area sorely needs.
So the news that this much-needed £3.7m project has been delayed, potentially for as much as six years, is disappointing. But the delay, while unfortunate, is understandable under the circumstances.
Because as much as Frideswide Square needs a redesign, the city needs a railway station fit for the 21st century more.
It would be farcical if millions of pounds of public money was spent on a new square only for it to be ripped up by the redevelopment of the railway station.
Oxfordshire County Councils cabinet member for transport Rodney Rose has made a difficult decision to delay the work until the future of the railway redesign is clear, but it’s the right one.
