Effects on health of current levels of traffic on the A44

It is beyond the scope of this document to quantify the health impact of current traffic flows within Woodstock. Nevertheless, a number of points can be made about the existing situation:

• Levels of traffic injury on the A44 in Woodstock are lower than average for this setting - 29 per 100 million vehicle km as opposed to an average of 68 per 100 million vehicle km for A44 built up areas as a whole- so they are unlikely to drop any further. It is not possible to assess if this low rate reflects a genuinely low level of danger or merely risk compensation (changes in behaviour to avoid road danger) on the part of local residents. For example, given the poor facilities for cyclists, the high traffic flows, and the hilly nature of the town, it may be that the low levels of cyclist casualties simply reflect low levels of cycling. Despite their wide currency as indicators of road danger, crude injury rates of this kind are meaningless without detailed information about people's level of exposure to the risks.
• As far as people's behaviour (such as whether or not they choose to walk or cycle around the town) is concerned, it is the level of danger perceived, whether or not that is grounded in fact, that is of prime importance.
• The urban environment in Woodstock presents major obstacles to people wishing to walk or cycle. The pavements are poorly maintained and extremely narrow in places, and there is only one pedestrian crossing on the A44
• The A44 cutting through the town creates significant community severance, a situation made worse by the poor pedestrian facilities listed above, and by the high volumes of traffic, especially large vehicles such as coaches and lorries, travelling through the town
• Traffic noise, with its concomitant health effects, is likely to be a major issue for people living along the A44
• Despite the relative affluence of Woodstock health inequalities still exist, with the negative effects of traffic disproportionately borne by groups such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities
• There are proposals for traffic calming measures on the A44 in Old Woodstock. These would add a second crossing over the A44, a pedestrian refuge near the Seven Arches, five sets of pedestrian 'guardrails', and a number of other measures such as road markings to encourage drivers to slow down. While these measures are laudable they are insufficient, and are unlikely to have a major impact on levels or perceptions of traffic danger within the town.