Great chance to lead the way on safety (From The Oxford Times)

Great chance to lead the way on safety

7:00am Friday 11th May 2007 in

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Sir - The sad loss of another student cyclist's life at the junction of Broad Street and Parks Road is attracting much attention, due to his genius in the academic world and his whole- hearted and plentiful contributions to the lives of those around him.

I wonder if, as an engineer, he had ever thought about the Monderman solution to our accident-prone Oxford streets. Where he was killed is frequented mostly by pedestrians and cyclists, with few motor vehicles in comparison.

Has the past trend towards vehicle- dominated rules, the imposition of traffic lights, the "It's my turn I'm going" philosophy of drivers, contributed to this accident? There is an opportunity to create new order on our streets by following the Monderman solution, which takes away traffic lights, road signs and markings, and pedestrianizes the whole junction. It is called the "naked streets" theory.

There is only one rule, safeguard the lives of those around you by your actions, whether you are driving a garbage truck, a bicycle, or a skateboard.

It was developed in Holland by Monderman and has been adopted widely in many countries with reduction in accident fatality and injury rates. Some councils in the UK are considering or assessing its effectiveness already and this is a great opportunity for Oxford to lead and introduce a traffic policy which builds safer communities and safer communal facilities for all road users. Try it.

Christine Collin, Iffley