Highest levels of pollution currently within town, but they have not been quantified, so any health effects are conjectural. Effective calming might generate queues, creating worse pollution at times.

Likely to produce lower levels of pollution within Woodstock town, but pollution in the Glyme valley would increase, especially if the bypass generated extra traffic. Likely increase in greenhouse gas production.

Difficult to quantify, but air pollution within the town likely to diminish. If HGV traffic simply diverts pollution levels would increase on the new routes.

Traffic injuries

Proposed traffic calming measures may reduce traffic injuries, but levels are already relatively low so unlikely to drop any further. Not clear if low injury rates reflect low levels of risk, or merely the fact that people have withdrawn from the danger posed by traffic.

Very difficult to quantify. Likely to reduce, although lower volumes of traffic might lead to higher speeds and greater traffic danger within Woodstock town. Injury levels on bypass are impossible to estimate at this stage. People living near the bypass would be exposed to much higher levels of traffic danger.

Very difficult to quantify. Likely to improve the situation, although reduced HGV flows may lessen the intimidation of pedestrians and cyclists, thus exposing them to greater traffic danger from cars, especially if speeds were to increase as a result of lower traffic volumes.

Physical activity

Current levels of physical activity not quantified, but likely to be lower than desirable; likely that traffic through town is reducing numbers of people walking and cycling, but unclear of strength of this effect – eg do activity levels vary between matched residents close to, and distant from, A44?

Very difficult to quantify. Bypass might lead to higher levels of physical activity for town residents, but could facilitate car use, thus paradoxically reducing walking and cycling. Bypass likely to reduce walking and cycling activity in Glyme valley.

Likely to improve the situation, but very difficult to quantify. Reduced HGV flows may lead to higher levels of physical activity for town residents, but might facilitate car use, thus paradoxically reducing walking and cycling. Walking and cycling might be reduced on any new routes taken by diverted HGVs – impact depends on current levels on those roads.

Community severance

Not quantified, but likely to be appreciable: busy road with only one pedestrian crossing and poor pedestrian facilities.

Very difficult to quantify: depends upon effect of bypass on traffic within town. Seems likely to reduce severance, but if traffic speeds increase it might stay the same or worsen. Significant worsening of community severance for residents in vicinity of bypass.

Likely to reduce community severance, unless lower volumes of traffic lead to higher speeds within the town. Potential for worsened severance on new routes taken by lorries.

Noise

Not quantified. Effective traffic calming would reduce speed and volume of traffic, and thus should reduce noise. Potential for noise to increase or change character at times – eg if traffic queues were to build up.

A reduction in traffic within the town would result in lower overall noise levels, but might generate alternative patterns: eg intermittent noise produced by infrequent vehicles at certain times. Bypass traffic would generate noise with different characteristics, and might produce continuous noise. The population most affected by noise is likely to change from those in the centre of the town to those on its outskirts.

Likely to improve considerably if HGVs are removed from the town centre, but might generate alternative patterns: eg intermittent noise produced by infrequent vehicles at certain times. Noise likely to increase on new routes taken by lorries.

Access / mobility

Likely to be reduced as a result of the severance imposed by the A44 running through the town, and likely to improve if traffic successfully calmed.

Impossible to quantify these effects using current data. Bypass construction might encourage the use and thus development of more distant shopping, employment and leisure facilities, and thus worsen the access problems of those with barriers to mobility such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Likely to improve, especially if reduced HGV flows enhance the town centre and stimulate the retail environment. Might worsen for people living on alternate routes taken by HGVs.

Children, the elderly, and disabled people all likely to be constrained by current situation. Narrow and uneven pavements may present more of a threat to health, and disincentive to activity, than perceived danger from vehicles.

Likely to increase health inequalities, with town centre residents seeing improvements at the cost of those on the outskirts; desirability of properties near bypass would decrease, thus worsening inequalities further.

Likely to reduce health inequalities if fewer HGVs travel through and near the town. If HGV limitations were part of a countywide move to restrict road transport this might well have a major effect on reducing health inequalities. Potential for inequalities to worsen along new lorry routes.