Environmental Statement volume 4 - Chiltern Evergreen3

Site Options Reason for Selection/RejectionOption 3 (previously Option A7) -This option is similar to Option 2,but with a new two-storey car parkon the field south of the TalismanBusiness Centre.This option went out to publicconsultation but subsequently had to bedismissed as it became clear that theTalisman site was a flood risk and wasalready the subject of a planningapplication.Option 4 - The new station buildingwould be sited north of the line asin Option 2, but further west tomeet the required platformlocation. An entrance on the southside of the railway would also beprovided, with ticket machines anda drop-off point on London Road.A footbridge and lifts would linkthe platforms.Station Approach would bestraightened and widened, and anew at-grade car park provided onthe site of the present coach garageand part of the trading estate. Thiswould have capacity for futureexpansion to meet rail trafficgrowth. A foot/cycle/bus linkwould be provided between StationApproach and Bicester Village, butthis would be banned to cars toprevent a ‘rat-run’.This option was developed based upon:the public’s preference for the newstation building being located on thenorth side of the line, whilst alsoproviding access from the south side; therevised platform layout necessitated bysignalling regulations; and provision ofsufficient car parking capacity. It alsoprovides better links between LondonRoad and Bicester Village, and facilitatesthe future regeneration of this area ofBicester. This was the preferred option.C1.3.3Options for Northern Corridor Crossings38 crossing points exist along the route corridor currently (both public andprivate) and a key aspiration has been to reduce the number of level crossingsfor safety reasons along the route as part of the Scheme, either by closingthem, re-routing the roads / footpaths and or replacing them with bridges.All crossing points were considered in detail, including assessing viablealternatives, and the resulting solutions are described in Table C2 below. Thekey aspects that were considered at all the locations were:level of use;length of and ease of use of diversion routes for users;traffic impacts;safety;engineering and ease of construction;impacts on rail operations;property and land take requirements;environmental impacts;residential disturbance; andcost of construction.ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENTC16CHILTERN RAILWAYS