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Cyclists fear 'ban' in city plans (From The Oxford Times)
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Cyclists fear 'ban' in city plans
8:57pm Sunday 15th February 2009
Dozens of cyclists met Oxfordshire County Council’s transport chief to have their say over plans to transform Oxford city centre.
The meeting was part of a consultation process over plans to pedestrianise much of central Oxford.
About 35 riders, including a large contingent from campaign group Cyclox, turned up at the Town Hall to get their view across.
Cyclox spokesman James Styring said: “There was nothing in the Transform Oxford proposals about cycling and we want to make sure that if they pedestrianise roads, they don’t end up banning bikes.”
He said Ian Hudspeth, cabinet member for transport, gave no assurances cyclists would not be banned under the planned changes.
But he added: “People had the opportunity to ask questions.
“The main talk was about shared space.
“One of the first things the county is going to do is make level the pavement and road surface in New Inn Hall Street.
“The idea is that cyclists would go more carefully and slowly, as they wouldn’t feel they owned the road, and pedestrians would be more able to use the main part of the street.
“It’s an experiment in having shared space.”
County Hall will also be consulting with a host of other groups, including pensioners and disabled people before any decision is made.
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Your Say YourOxford
DanOxford, Oxford says...
10:13pm Sun 15 Feb 09
The blind have also been campaigning against these 'shared space' schemes as they end up 'sharing' their space with cars and cyclists.
I really can't see the problem with the tried and tested approach of having a pavement for pedestrians (NOT cyclists) then a cycle lane, then the road for cars.
This scheme is symptomatic of the current trend for inconveniencing and endangering everyone because the root cause can't or won't be tackled.
“The idea is that cyclists would go more carefully and slowly, as they wouldn’t feel they owned the road, and pedestrians would be more able to use the main part of the street."
How about fining cyclists for reckless and/or dangerous driving as car users would be?
Also- how are pedestrians suddenly going to 'benefit' from being able to use the whole road space? Surely the thing preventing them already doing so was the presence of cyles and cars rather than the lack of a level road/ pavement interface?
God knows how why we put up with Oxford County Council's endless meddling with our safety and at our expense.
Rankin7, Oxford says...
1:24am Mon 16 Feb 09
Any Oxford resident will confirm the arrogance, utter stupidity and criminal behaviour of Oxfords cyclists.
Thank god cyclists are a tiny minority.
brianbbleys, bbleys says...
5:26am Mon 16 Feb 09
oxfordgirl1974, oxford says...
8:41am Mon 16 Feb 09
I am fed up of going into the centre of Oxford and being nearly run over by cyclists, who think that they own the roads, and have a right to ride as fast as they like. Also, I have lost count of the amount of times a cyclist has jumped the red light.....
Sophia, Oxford says...
9:22am Mon 16 Feb 09
As a recent convert to cycling for health reasons, I am appalled by the poor design - or rather, total lack of thought - for cycling in the City, which mixes cyclist, cars and pedestrians without any attention to separating them.
In my view its this poor design that is creating problems. Fro example in the Broad, there is no indication to pedestrains that they should look out for cyclist and no attempt to keep cyclist in a particular lane. The result is a threat to both - a cyclist hitting a pedestrian does not necessarily come off best from the encounter!
Yes, there are aggressive cyclists (aggressive against other cyclists, too!) as well as careless jay walkers, but in other cities eg Amsterdam, careful design minimises such conflicts.
Te porblme is not the people, cyclists or pedestrians, its a failure of thought by the Council.
The lack of any mention of cycling in the Transform Oxford proposals is therefore worrying, indeed in a Uni town with thousands of bikes, utterly bizarre
situpandbeg, Oxford says...
9:45am Mon 16 Feb 09
I've started leaving my bike at home and using my car more and more. Is that what the county council (and some of your correspondents) want?
CK1, Oxford says...
11:33am Mon 16 Feb 09
Sophia, I completely agree with you. Cycling shouldn't be dead scary (as it currently is!) due to a lack of route provision and the abundance of aggressive fellow cyclists (and cars and pedestrians).
I fully agree with commenters: the city and county council have heard some vague rumours about promoting cycling. Something with traffic jams and health and stuff. They lost a fortune in national grants because they don't look beyond radio ads, and actually promote cycling on the ground.
What would really make a difference here is to promote cycling for ALL. Not a group of enthusiasts (Cyclox?) but the the father, the kid, the grandparent, the student alike. Cyclists come in tiers: enthusiasts will always cycle, even if a city has no facilities (Oxford). Routes, parking and promotion will have to step up significantly to reach non-enthusiasts. They will have to realise that cycling is safe, fast and convenient. How do we do that?
Hey, instead of responding to plans, why not come up with an alternative?
Rankin7, Oxford says...
11:42am Mon 16 Feb 09
situpandbeg wrote:yes situpandbeg and I would like to congratulate you on your moral courage and community spirit.
Encouraging more cycling could help to ease Oxford's traffic jams, but now it seems no one wants us to cycle.
I've started leaving my bike at home and using my car more and more. Is that what the county council (and some of your correspondents) want?
The more cyclists that leave their bicycles at home, the safer the streets will be for all.
Well done.
Sophia, Oxford says...
12:32pm Mon 16 Feb 09
Rankin7 hope you get over it soon.
Lovebike, Cowley Road says...
12:53pm Mon 16 Feb 09
CK1, Oxford says...
2:47pm Mon 16 Feb 09
BigAlan, Eynsham says...
1:33pm Tue 17 Feb 09
Your sayYour Oxford
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Ian Hudspeth, left, meets Cyclox members
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markmac, Oxford says...
9:36pm Sun 15 Feb 09
Why not go the whole hog and ban all wheeled transport from within the ringroad? With a concession of council-licensed ponytraps maybe? Hmm, a nice little earner...