Whats going on outside the Kings Arms?
The Smithgate, or Kings Arms Crossroads – that of Broad Street, Catte Street, Holywell Street and Parks Road – has a set of traffic lights on each corner but no pedestrian phase, so cars cross the junction at all times. (The same is true of the T-junction outside Worcester College.) There are also no pedestrian-controlled crossings nearby (though there are markings for one between the New Bod and the Kings Arms). What really makes this junction noteworthy for Oxnet, however, is the presence of the advanced stop line for cyclists as you come out of Parks Road – apparently the first such in the UK. The green `cyclist’ on the first set of lights allows cyclists to travel on to the next stop line about 3 metres forward. This line is next to another set of traffic lights. *These* must turn to green before any vehicle is allowed to cross the second line, whether they are going left, right or straight on.
